PERSUADING SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT TO COME ON BOARD ONE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL'S FIRST GREAT SUCCESSES

5 November 1998

Press Release
SG/SM/6785

PERSUADING SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT TO COME ON BOARD ONE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL'S FIRST GREAT SUCCESSES

19981105 Kofi Annan Tells Gala Dinner of International Peace Academy

Following is the text of remarks made yesterday in New York by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at a gala dinner of the International Peace Academy honouring his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu:

It is always a pleasure to come to the International Peace Academy, but a special pleasure this evening. Why? First of all because, after so many seminars, it is nice once in a while to come here just for dinner.

Secondly, the International Peace Academy has a track record of poaching the most distinguished servants of the United Nations, starting of course with your founding President, General Indar Jit Rikhye. More recent examples include F.T. Liu -– to whom we all wish a speedy and complete recovery –- and George Sherry.

But the United Nations is now striking back. This time we have stolen your best and brightest. I mean of course your President, Olara Otunnu. And I'm afraid we have not waited for him to retire, as you have usually been nice enough to do. This time it is an outright steal. Mind you, if you only looked at the first two pages of Olara's curriculum vitae, you would certainly reckon him an elder statesman. But that is only because he started so young.

At the age of 30 he was already serving as his country's permanent representative at the United Nations. One year later, he was presiding over the Security Council, during the election of a new Secretary-General.

Indeed, he is credited with breaking the deadlock on that occasion, by his ingenious device of a non-binding ballot in which the permanent members used voting papers of a different colour from the rest. This smoked out the fact that each of the two main candidates was opposed by one permanent member, and so cleared the way for a third choice, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar.

That was an early example of Olara's resourcefulness, which we have since come to know so well. I expect you have all followed the subsequent twists and turns of his career, with its many achievements.

Olara, you are still only 48. You have time to scale many more heights. And you have an unparalleled capacity to learn.

You have learnt, for instance, that there is more than one job worth doing in the United Nations Secretariat. Perhaps you have even noticed that people sometimes get promoted within the Secretariat.

Whatever the reason, I am extremely pleased with myself for having persuaded you to come on board. In fact, I consider it one of the first great successes of my term as Secretary-General.

As you know, the United Nations has for years been trying to draw attention to the horrendous plight of children affected by armed conflict. In 1996, we received the first comprehensive report on the subject, submitted by Graça Machel.

Graça set out findings and recommendations for action in several areas. They included child soldiers, refugees and internally displaced children, sexual exploitation and gender-based violence, landmines and unexploded ordnance, the impact of sanctions on children, health and nutrition, psychological recovery and social reintegration, education, demilitarization and reconstruction.

That is quite an agenda. We know from experience that such lists of recommendations do not implement themselves. You need someone of great vigour and determination to make things actually happen.

So the General Assembly recommended that I appoint a Special Representative to take charge. And that is what I have done.

At first, many of us hoped that Graça herself would take on the job. But she became -- how shall I put it? -- otherwise engaged. So I had to look round for someone who shared her qualities -- but someone younger, and, if possible, even more determined and vigorous. Well, Graça and Olara have several things in common, as you know. They are both great African statespersons, if that is the right expression. And both have displayed unusual skill in switching nationalities, from one African State to another.

So choosing Olara as my Special Representative was easy. Persuading him to come was a little harder. I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone here that Olara is a man who knows how to drive a bargain. We nearly lost him on an

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issue which might seem trivial, but whose importance he immediately understood: the issue of "and" versus "in".

You see, most people at the United Nations thought that looking after children in armed conflict would be a big enough job for anyone. But Olara was having none of it. He absolutely refused to sign a contract until we had amended it to read "Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict".

That way, Olara becomes the guardian angel of all children, everywhere in the world, without waiting for armed conflict to reach them. (He is already the legal guardian of six children, but that is only a start.)

And he can also deal with armed conflict anywhere in the world, without waiting for it to involve children. I can tell you, when the Security Council heard about this, they breathed a huge collective sigh of relief.

I know it is a great sacrifice that you at the International Peace Academy have made in letting Olara go. But I hope you now understand that your loss is the world's gain.

And I must say my feelings of guilt about stealing your President were considerably assuaged when I heard you had secured David Malone as a replacement. David is very well known at the United Nations from his time at the Canadian mission in the early nineties. He was then Louise Frechette's deputy, and now she is my deputy. It's a small world.

All of us have very good memories of working with David, especially those of us who dealt with United Nations Peacekeeping in those years. It's a great pleasure to welcome him back to New York.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please raise your glasses? I give you the toast of the International Peace Academy and its Presidents, old and new.

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