STATEMENT BY SECRETARY-GENERAL AT AWARD OF HOUPHOU-T-BOIGNY PRIZE
Press Release
SG/SM/5832
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY-GENERAL AT AWARD OF HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY PRIZE
19951204 ADVANCE RELEASEFollowing is the text of the statement by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, on the occasion of the awarding of the Houphouët-Boigny Prize at Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, on 5 December:
Today we all share the same feelings at meeting here at Yamoussoukro, in this symbolic place imbued with the guiding spirit of President Houphouët- Boigny. It is now two years since Africa was brutally deprived of one of its great fathers. At the time I myself felt most painfully the great void left by his passing. For on that day I lost an elder brother who had spared no effort to uphold the noble goals of the Charter of the United Nations and who consistently offered me his unwavering support.
Yet as we recall him I should like also to remember Yitzhak Rabin, who last year, together with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, received the Houphouët- Boigny Peace Prize that brings us here today. This tragic event proves once again how long and dangerous the road to peace is, and how the journey along that road demands both courage and tenacity. But it is also an indication that the prize-winners whom we are honouring today are particularly worthy of this high distinction.
His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain and President Jimmy Carter are both tireless peace-makers. They work unstintingly to reconcile peoples, States and nations, and their work thus falls naturally within the framework of the ideals handed down to us 50 years ago by the founding fathers of the Charter. I should therefore like to pay a warm tribute to both distinguished recipients of the Houphouët-Boigny Prize and to tell them how much the United Nations supports their endeavours.
- 2 - Press Release SG/SM/5832 4 December 1995
We are all aware that we are entering a new phase in history. The global society in which we will live from now on requires us to embrace a noble ideal of peace. For we know very well that peace is not simply the absence of war: it can only be achieved and consolidated through development and democratization.
Peace demands of us solidarity and continuity -- and the United Nations, as we are all aware, is an irreplaceable instrument for promoting peaceful relations among peoples. But peace also depends, as we know, on the political will of States and on the dedication of all men of good will to its service. And so we are delighted today to see the Houphouët-Boigny Prize awarded to such eminent persons as His Majesty King Juan Carlos and President Jimmy Carter.
If I have lost the support of President Houphouët-Boigny, I have found in President Henri Konan Bedié a new leader whose friendship and esteem support me in my arduous and unceasing work for peace, development and human rights.
* *** *