UN RELIES ON THOSE WHO 'CAN BRIDGE ALL DIVIDES' TO RAISE AWARENESS OF ITS OPERATIONS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN BEVERLY HILLS
Press Release
SG/SM/6533
UN RELIES ON THOSE WHO 'CAN BRIDGE ALL DIVIDES' TO RAISE AWARENESS OF ITS OPERATIONS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN BEVERLY HILLS
19980421 ADVANCE RELEASE Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statement to be delivered tonight at a reception hosted by the President of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, in Beverly Hills:I am honoured to be in such eminent company tonight. Let me at the outset thank President Jack Valenti for making this possible. At first glance, it may seem we live in different worlds. But I think we have much in common, and even more to give each other.
It is a wonderful thing when a voice rises above the din of cynicism and selfishness that all too often pervades our world, and takes our spirits up with it. The artistic voice, at its best, is one of those.
Mr. Valenti has described Hollywood as not only a nesting place for talent, but also a bully pulpit. If that means a platform for the voice of moral authority, I could not agree more. Silence the voice of the artist, and you silence the most articulate voice the people have. For the arts, at their best, speak not only to people; they speak for them.
I know that when an artist speaks up to safeguard the environment, or to crusade for civil rights, or to fight the scourge of drugs -- all of which people in your industry have done -- the world sits up and listens. I have seen this happen firsthand.
As part of our growing partnership with civil society, the United Nations is now enlisting the support of a growing number of messengers for peace -- ambassadors from the world of show business, entertainment and sports, who will follow in the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn and Danny Kaye to raise immeasurably the awareness of our operations.
From Luciano Pavarotti to Magic Johnson, who formally accepted the messenger for peace citation when we met earlier today -- these men and women will be among our most audible and eloquent advocates in bringing home the message that everybody needs the United Nations, in the world at large, and not least in this country.
And so, my friends, I have come to pay tribute to you today. But I have also come to appeal to you. Today, we live in an interdependent, global village; we face new realities; we must accept change as an essential condition of life.
The challenges that face humankind today cut across all frontiers: they involve all aspects of human security. But human understanding has not yet grasped them.
Issues before the United Nations, such as the environment, drugs, pandemics and sustainable development, are problems without passports.
They require blueprints without borders. This is the message we are trying to send to the world. Yet the public is still thinking in local terms; it is still constrained by boundaries.
And this is why we need to rely on those who can speak across all borders, communicate across all continents, bridge all divides. This is why we need to rely on people like you.
We rely on you because we are convinced that it is ignorance, not understanding, that makes enemies of men. It is ignorance, not communication, that makes fighters of children. It is ignorance, not tolerance, that leads some to advocate tyranny over democracy. It is ignorance, not knowledge, that makes others say that there are many worlds, when we know that there is one. Ours.
The United Nations is the only organization that works to safeguard all aspects of human security in this ever-changing world of ours to promote, as the Charter puts it so well, better standards of life in larger freedom. We are there to deal with challenges ranging from climate change to AIDS, from the health and happiness of women and children in the developing world to the fight against drug smuggling and organized crime. We are there to deal with practical issues ranging from civil aviation to the protection of intellectual property, an issue which concerns you all intimately. We are there, in short, to build for humankind that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and the prerequisite for peace.
And yet, this same United Nations is undergoing the worst financial crisis in its history -- a crisis that has brought its ability to function to breaking point. The amount owed by the United States is $1.6 billion. While this is a significant sum, it is slightly less than the money Titanic has already made around the world.
I take this opportunity to ask you to reflect for a moment on what $1.6 billion actually means to a great country like yours: on a per capita basis,
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it represents just over $6 per American to repay a debt built up over a decade. That amount would not buy you even one appetizer at Spago.
It is also important to understand that most of the amount in question is owed by the United Nations to countries which have provided troops to United Nations peacekeeping -- most of them poor ones such as Bangladesh, Fiji and Tunisia. We can only reimburse them if countries like the United States pay up.
When I returned from my mission to Baghdad earlier this year, I said that when we pull together from across the world and work together to solve a problem, we will almost always succeed.
I have mentioned just a few of the causes that stand to benefit from your involvement. There are, and will be, so many more. And so, on behalf of the United Nations, and as the husband of an artist, I gladly offer my recognition and my gratitude to all of those who use their voice in the service of a better, safer, more peaceful world. It may say nothing about our origins, but it speaks volumes for our character. Let your voices rise.
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