SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN ADDRESS TO WORLD CONGRESS OF RUSSIAN MEDIA PRAISES ITS COURAGE, INDEPENDENCE DURING RUSSIA'S TRANSITION
Press Release
SG/SM/7048
SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN ADDRESS TO WORLD CONGRESS OF RUSSIAN MEDIA PRAISES ITS COURAGE, INDEPENDENCE DURING RUSSIA'S TRANSITION
19990625 Following is the text of an address by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the World Congress of the Russian Media, delivered in Moscow on 22 June:It gives me great pleasure to join you today. I am always glad to spend time among journalists, as I have great admiration for the work you do. Without freedom of opinion and expression, there would be less democracy and fewer open societies. Without the free flow of information and ideas, there would be little chance of promoting understanding and cooperation among nations and cultures. Without your spotlight on matters affecting human well- being, the world would be a darker place.
The United Nations is also grateful to you for making sense of our own alphabet soup of acronyms; for working out the intricacies of everything from weapons to the weather; and then translating it into language that ordinary people can understand. You are our partners -- but I would not presume for a moment to encroach upon your hard-earned independence.
As you know well, there are governments who question the value of press freedom. Some argue that independent media are a threat to stability and progress. Some consider freedom of speech a foreign imposition. But, for the United Nations -- and you may be surprised to hear this from the head of an organization made up of governments -- press freedom is a cornerstone of human rights. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims the right to freedom of opinion and expression, is an article of faith for us as well.
In Russia and much of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, such freedoms are of relatively recent vintage. But, in that short while you have risen to the challenge. You have reported courageously on conflicts in Chechnya and elsewhere in the CIS. You have explored the ramifications of post-Soviet life, and been part of the lively debate on Russia's role in Europe, Asia and the world. Your work has not always endeared you to the leadership or to other sectors of society.
I should add that the United Nations itself -- including me personally -- have come in for quite a bit of criticism. I accept that; it is an essential part of public service. Some of your colleagues have lost their lives in the line of duty. That is unacceptable. But, it is a measure of the vital role you are playing in the region's difficult transition from one system, and one era, to another.
The transition to democracy and market economies continues to be an uneven experience. The renewal of the Russian Federation and the CIS countries is a work in progress. We all know that the region has tremendous potential for growth, but it faces many challenges, both internal and external. The recent economic and financial crisis has added new dimensions to these challenges. Globalization magnifies both threats and opportunities.
I know that there have been frustrations at how long the transition is taking, at how fragile the gains are, and at the persistent gap between what was promised by reform and the tangible results actually being delivered.
Throughout the CIS region, there have been great upheavals at work and at home, and spiritually as well. Alongside important successes, serious obstacles have arisen along the path of reform. High standards of law and governance are difficult to achieve overnight. The politics of ethnicity and exclusion have caused bloodshed.
I would be especially troubled to see a new division of Europe: with, on the one side, a comfortable, prosperous, democratic western and central Europe and, on the other side, an impoverished, war-torn, resentful eastern and south-eastern Europe.
My message to the people of Russia and the CIS at this time is that the United Nations remains your close partner. Our development agencies and our regional commissions -- Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) -- as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, are working with you to complete the transition; to forge peace and build institutions; to protect the environment and safeguard human rights; to integrate your nations into the European and global economies. We shall not rest until the region finds a secure and durable path.
My message to you is a message I bring to audiences throughout the world: that this focus on economic and social development is the essence of the United Nations. For many people, journalists included, the United Nations brings to mind peacekeeping, the Security Council and specific "hot-spots", such as Iraq, Kosovo or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And, certainly, those are tragic situations worthy of our fullest attention, for millions of people and entire regions are suffering as a result of conflicts and instability in these places.
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But, the United Nations is concerned with much more than Kosovo. For the majority of United Nations Member States, however, it is the issues before the Economic and Social Council that are the true face of the Organization. Our literacy programmes; our efforts to halt the spread of AIDS and to fight drug-trafficking; our technical work in the areas of aviation, shipping and telecommunications, which I call the "soft infrastructure of the global system -- these and other behind-the-scenes efforts consume the largest share of our budget and have the greatest day to day impact on the greatest number of people.
All of this work relates to human security no less than the traditional questions of weapons and war. For the United Nations, the link is clear. That link -- between the security front and the economic front, between "freedom from fear" and "freedom from want" -- is the basis for my efforts to ensure that the United Nations is equipped to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
The Organization continues to undergo a process of comprehensive reform. We are trying to revive stagnant peace processes, cultivate new ones and reinvigorate our work for development. Universal human rights have become a central focus -- a cross-cutting theme in all our work. The doors of the United Nations are open as never before to the private sector and civil society groups.
If there is one event at which all of these issues, and all of our hopes, may well converge, it is the Millennium Assembly and Millennium Summit to be held next year in New York. These must not be purely symbolic or ceremonial events. Many commentators see the United Nations as being gradually marginalized, both as a force for peace and security and as an actor for development. This is not my view. Nor do I believe it corresponds to either the interests or the desires of the world's peoples.
The next century will bring many global problems which will need to be addressed in the forum of a global organization. The United Nations can and must identify those problems, as well as the means of addressing them. The Millennium Assembly and Summit offer us an ideal occasion to do so, if they are properly planned and prepared.
Russia must continue to be a vital part of this endeavour. Russia's commitment to the Organization is clear -- for reasons that must be obvious to anyone who has visited, as I did this morning, the Piskarev Cemetery in St. Petersburg, where half a million of those who died during the siege of Leningrad are buried.
The sacrifice and suffering of the Russian people in that Great Patriotic War, which began 58 years ago today with the unprovoked aggression of Nazi Germany, were almost unimaginable. Small wonder that Russia emerged
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determined to prevent such a disaster from ever recurring. Driven by that determination, the Soviet Union became a founding member of the United Nations.
Today's Russian Federation lives up to that commitment with great honour. Despite its economic difficulties, Russia's contributions to the regular budget arrive on time and without conditions, unlike many other nations. And, over the course of the past several weeks, we have seen Russian diplomacy make a decisive difference in turning a corner in Kosovo. Russian participation will be just as important as the international community now turns to the daunting job of rebuilding homes, restoring infrastructure and renewing Kosovo for a safe and secure future for all its citizens, regardless of ethnic background.
You will no doubt cover this story and many more in which the United Nations has a role. Sometimes, I am sure, you will light our way. On other occasions, I am equally certain, you will cast shadows on our path, showing us where our analysis was wrong, or where our performance fell short.
In a sense, both journalists and the United Nations are in the business of prevention. The United Nations practices preventive diplomacy. Your work amounts to what I call "preventive journalism": identifying matters of public concern, digging up information and rousing the international community to action. I look forward to working with you in diagnosing the world's problems and, in the best tradition of preventive medicine, finding cures to those ills before they rage unchecked.
Let me close with a special word about the Russian language in which you work. The influence of Russian extends far beyond Russia's borders -- through its world-famous literature and also because of the history of our century. Russian is, of course, one of the six official languages of the United Nations. And, people all over the world have been busy marking the bicentennial of the birth of the poet Aleksandr Pushkin, including tributes earlier this month in New York at Carnegie Hall and at United Nations Headquarters, where teenagers came together to discuss how they saw Pushkin in today's world.
I understand there is now a debate over Pushkin's heritage. No one is questioning his African roots; that ancestry is a well-established fact. But, I have been told that scholars from Benin and Cameroon are challenging the long-held view that Pushkin's great-grandfather was Ethiopian. Who knows? Perhaps Pushkin will one day be found to be part-Ghanaian. Even if not, I would like to add my voice to this year's Pushkin tributes. He was, after all, something of an internationalist -- schooled in several languages, open to other cultural influences, and concerned not only about Russia but about other nations and peoples as well.
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"It's time my friend, it's time!" he once wrote. "The peace is craved by hearts." I suspect he would have supported the United Nations. In that spirit, I hope you will, too, by continuing to do what you do best. Thank you very much for this opportunity to share this time with you.
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