SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS NEW FLAG OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA SYMBOLIZES COMMITMENT TO CONSOLIDATING HARD-WON PEACE
Press Release
SG/SM/6457
SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS NEW FLAG OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA SYMBOLIZES COMMITMENT TO CONSOLIDATING HARD-WON PEACE
19980206 Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statement at the flag-raising ceremony for Bosnia and Herzegovina today:We are here today, before the United Nations, to welcome a new flag to the family of nations. We raise the new standard of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, symbolizing its commitment to consolidating its hard-won peace and assuring respect for the human rights of all its citizens. I would, in this regard, like to pay special tribute to the Office of the High Representative which has made this historic moment possible.
For us at the United Nations, this is a moment of special significance. No conflict, no cause has presented a greater challenge to the United Nations. From all corners of the world, United Nations personnel went to Bosnia to promote the peace and the unity that we witness today.
They did so for the sake of the people of Bosnia, and in the hope that co-existence -- once flourishing among the communities of that country -- can once again become reality. They saw that the desire for peace and for tolerance is genuine, and they knew that we in the international community have a duty and an obligation to make that peace a lasting one.
Ultimately, however, it is the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina who must seize this chance for peace and prosperous co-existence. The world stands ready to help. But it is for them to make this peace their own.
One flag. One future. One nation. In peace and with justice. That is the promise we mark today. That is our fervent hope for all the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and for their children.
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