SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCLUDES TWO-DAY VISIT TO ITALY; ARRIVES IN LONDON

Press Release
SG/T/2022

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCLUDES TWO-DAY VISIT TO ITALY; ARRIVES IN LONDON

LONDON, 10 January -- Secretary-General Boutros-Boutros Ghali arrived in London at noon today.

At 3 p.m., the Secretary-General called on Prime Minister John Major at No. 10 Downing Street. They exchanged views on a number of international issues, including latest developments in the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the situation in Eastern Slavonia, the Cyprus question and the talks on East Timor due to be held in London next week. Views were also exchanged on the situations in Burundi, Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

They also discussed United Nations reform and the financial crisis facing the Organization, including the convening of a special session of the General Assembly to discuss this acute problem. The Secretary-General said reform was an ongoing process, and expressed his gratitude to the Government and people of the United Kingdom for consistently paying their contributions to the regular and peace-keeping budgets in full and on time. The Secretary-General also thanked the Prime Minister for Britain's major role in United Nations peace-keeping operations worldwide.

At 4 p.m., the Secretary-General planted a tree outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre Hall, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. The Secretary-General was accompanied by the Under-Secretary-General for Public Policy, Gillian Sorensen.

At 6 p.m., the Secretary-General will participate in a ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the first session of the United Nations General Assembly in Central Hall, Westminster. During the ceremony, the Secretary-General will unveil a commemorative plaque and deliver the keynote address. (For the full text of the Secretary-General's statement, see Press Release SG/SM/5687.)

The Secretary-General toured some of the stands erected by supporters of the United Nations in commemoration of the United Nations fiftieth anniversary at Central Hall, Westminster where he viewed a stand dedicated to United Nations publications, in particular the "Blue Books" series, and met schoolchildren from around the country.

The evening of commemoration will be attended by members of the diplomatic corps, (the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom (UNA/UK)), delegates to the Model United Nations General Assembly and representatives of non- governmental organizations.

The Secretary-General will be welcomed by the President of the United Kingdom Committee for UN50, Lord Howe, and the Chairman of the UNA/UK, Sir Hugh Rossi, as well as the President of the Methodist Conference, Brian Hoare, all of whom are organizers of the ceremony.

The Secretary-General is scheduled to fly to Paris to attend the ceremony due to be held tomorrow, Thursday, 11 January, commemorating the late French President Francois Mitterrand.

Ending his two-day official visit to Italy, yesterday, 9 January, the Secretary-General received a standing ovation at a ceremony honouring the United Nations, held on the floor of the Lower House with the participation of the membership of the Chamber of Deputies.

Opening the session, the Speaker of the Lower House, Irene Pivetti, highlighted the important role of parliaments in the process of democratization of the United Nations. For his part, Prime Minister Lamberto Dini recalled that the United Nations deserved credit for having avoided global conflicts in the past 50 years. "It is sometimes said that the United Nations has failed to live up to expectations, but if that has been the case, it has to be considered a failure of the international community itself, because the United Nations can only do what its members permit it to do."

Next, representatives of each of the Italian political parties paid homage to the Secretary-General and expressed their full support for the role and activities of the United Nations. The majority also called for the reform of the Security Council.

The United Nations Secretary-General then had a one-hour meeting with Foreign Minister Susanna Agnelli, with whom he discussed the current critical situation in Burundi. The two also touched on the situations in Rwanda and Angola, as well as the differences between Yemen and Eritrea where the Secretary- General had just undertaken a mission.

The continuing role of the United Nations in parts of the former Yugoslavia, in terms of providing a United Nations police force, in helping the return of refugees, in protecting human rights, as well as the United Nations presence in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and its participation in Eastern Slavonia, were also discussed between the two leaders.

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Then, the Secretary-General and the head of Italian diplomacy had a long exchange of views on the financial crisis facing the United Nations, and the Secretary-General expressed the hope that Italy in its current capacity as President of the European Union would help in finding a solution to the problem. Otherwise, said the Secretary-General, he would call for a special session of the General Assembly in the forthcoming months to help solve the acute problem.

Finally, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Foreign Minister Susanna Agnelli briefed the press on the new United Nations Staff College in Turin, which will be managed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with the generous contribution of the Italian Government.

The last function of the Secretary-General while in Rome was his attendance, together with Mrs. Boutros-Ghali, at a gala dinner hosted in their honour by Foreign Minister Susanna Agnelli.

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