ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, 31 MAY - 1 JUNE

The Secretary-General travelled to Atlanta, Georgia, on the afternoon of Wednesday, 31 May.

On Thursday morning, he took part in the twentieth anniversary celebration of CNN, which began with a breakfast featuring guest speaker former United States President Jimmy Carter.

The Secretary-General was then the featured guest in the live one-hour CNN news programme, "Global Forum", which focused on United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking as well as on the use of sanctions.

Introduced by Richard Roth of CNN as the "reigning diplomatic heavyweight champion of the world", the Secretary-General responded to a number of questions on peacekeeping, emphasizing the need to send well-prepared and well-equipped peacekeepers so that they are prepared to defend themselves and their mandates.

In response to questions about the recent crisis in Sierra Leone, he reminded the audience that the United Nations response has been to reinforce itself as a way to dissuade those who think they can intimidate peacekeepers.

On peacemaking in Africa, he said that Africans cannot keep fighting each other and then ask, where is the United Nations? He said, we need to be careful not to blame the United Nations and those who are assisting. If we do that, we are absolving those who are responsible for the killing.

He talked about the need to encourage leaders in Africa to speak up on the devastating AIDS epidemic sweeping the continent and said he looked forward to the upcoming Millennium Summit where he hoped world leaders will gather in the same spirit as the founders of the United Nations to chart the course for the twenty- first century.

The Secretary-General attended a luncheon with speaker Steve Case, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, America Online, Inc. and met with Lloyd Axworthy, Foreign Minister of Canada, before returning to New York in the late afternoon Thursday.