SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO SWITZERLAND, 23-26 JANUARY

Press Release
SG/T/2165

SECRETARY-GENERAL'S VISIT TO SWITZERLAND, 23-26 JANUARY

The Secretary-General arrived in Geneva from Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday afternoon, 23 January.

On Sunday, following the decision taken at the Arusha Regional Summit by Burundi's neighbouring countries to suspend economic sanctions imposed on that country, the Secretary-General issued a statement welcoming this move (see Press Release SG/SM/6871).

On Monday, 25 January, he paid an official visit to the Geneva headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He was welcomed by its President, Cornelio Somaruga. In a speech to the ICRC, the Secretary-General stated that the United Nations and the ICRC were good and effective partners: independent of each other, yet close in spirit and together on the ground. Their common aim was to prevent and ease the suffering caused by war. The Secretary-General said he had sought to revitalize the United Nations so that its entire family of organizations worked towards common goals, like promoting the rule of law, ensuring respect for human rights and encouraging the peaceful resolution of disputes. He had also tried to deepen the United Nations ties with regional organizations, with the private sector and with non-governmental organizations and the rest of civil society, because the simple fact was that the common challenges being faced today were too big for the United Nations alone. (see Press Release SG/SM/6872).

The Secretary-General then signed the ICRC's Visitors' Book. Following that, in a meeting with Mr. Somaruga, they discussed a number of subjects of common interest, such as the situations in Sierra Leone, Angola and other African countries, as well as the situation in Kosovo. They also discussed the security of humanitarian workers in the field.

Mr. Somaruga hosted a lunch in honour of the Secretary-General. Before he left ICRC headquarters, Mr. Annan visited the "Jardin de Souvenirs", a garden commemorating the memory of men and women who gave their lives for humanitarian causes.

That afternoon, the Secretary-General visited the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Palais Wilson. He was welcomed by High Commissioner Mary Robinson, by Deputy High Commissioner Bertie Ramcharan and by Bacre Waly Ndiaye, the Director of the High Commissioner's New York office.

The Secretary-General had a working session with the High Commissioner and the Deputy High Commissioner, which was followed by a meeting with the staff. Mrs. Robinson welcomed the Secretary-General, whom she said had given consistent priority to speaking out in favour of universal human rights and in defence of the victims of aggression or abuse. She said that central to Mr. Annan's reform and renewal of the United Nations itself was the integration of human rights values throughout the programmes and agencies of the United Nations family.

Mrs. Robinson noted that this was the first visit of the Secretary-General to the Palais Wilson, the new Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which has been called "The House of Human Rights". She paid tribute to the loyalty and commitment of the staff of the Office working under stress, both in Geneva and in the field.

Staff members briefed the Secretary-General on a number of areas of the work of the Office. In response, Mr. Annan said the briefing had given him a good sense of the direction the Office was developing, adding that human rights was an area to which he attached the highest priority. He said he appreciated the work of Mrs. Robinson, and what she was doing to improve the professionalism and quality of the work of the Office.

The Secretary-General said that the greatest assets of the United Nations were the quality of its ideas; the professionalism of its work and the quality of its output; the technical competence of its documents; and the integrity it displayed. He said he was conscious of the budgetary pressures the Office was under, and said he was working with the High Commissioner to resolve related administrative problems. He said the staff of the Office was already very productive, but that once personnel issues were resolved, they would be even more so. Mr. Annan commented on the importance of focusing on the needs and rights of all children, especially during this year, the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and as the world entered the twenty-first century.

After he left the Palais Wilson, the Secretary-General met with Vladimir Petrovsky, both in his capacity as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and as Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament.

On the morning of Tuesday, 26 January, the Secretary-General held a series of meetings with senior United Nations officials in Geneva. He met at 8:45 a.m. with Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, Special Envoy of the Secretary- General to Africa. The Secretary-General, concerned at the level of tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, requested Ambassador Sahnoun to travel to Africa to consult with the parties. The Ambassador was due to begin that trip after their meeting. At 9:30 a.m., the Secretary-General met Mr. Petrovsky at the Palais des Nations. He then met with Jean-Claude Aimé, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Compensation Commission.

He later met with Ambassador Robert Grey of the United States, President of the Conference on Disarmament, before he made a speech to the plenary meeting of the Conference (see Press Release SG/SM/6874).

He also met with Yves Berthelot, Executive Secretary of the Economic

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Commission for Europe, and Ismat Kittani, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General.

At noon, the Secretary-General held an hour-long press conference for the Geneva press corps (see Press Release SG/SM/6875). This was followed by a lunch hosted by Mr. Petrovsky. The lunch was also attended by members of the Diplomatic Committee, currently chaired by Ambassador Absa Claude Diallo of Senegal. The Diplomatic Committee promotes relations with the host country.

That afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Astrid Heiberg, President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies, and George Weber, Secretary-General of the International Federation.

The Secretary-General then visited the offices of the High Commissioner for Refugees. In a statement to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, and her staff, Mr. Annan expressed how happy he was to be at UNHCR headquarters, saying that a visit to the UNHCR was a visit home.

Mr. Annan told the staff that, on the wall of his office on the 38th floor at United Nations Headquarters, he had a poster which states that "a refugee would like to have your problems". He said he likes to remind visitors that while they were at Headquarters, there were many difficult challenges in the field. The challenges had become even greater, more complex and dangerous in recent years, where the United Nations was engaged in civil war situations, where civilian populations had become deliberate targets, and where the work of the UNHCR was prevented and used as part of the tactics of war aggression. Last year, the United Nations lost many colleagues, for the first time more civilians than men in uniform, the Secretary-General went on to state. He said that each loss of life was something to be deplored. Once civilians went into these humanitarian situations to assist those in need, one did not expect them to be attacked and harassed. But the task ahead had to continue.

That evening, he departed Geneva and the first leg of his Swiss trip for an official visit to Belgium.

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