SECRETARY-GENERAL OPENS 'UNITED NATIONS HOUSE' IN KYRGYZSTAN, SAYS STAFF HAVE KEY ROLE IN HELPING NATION

SECRETARY-GENERAL OPENS 'UNITED NATIONS HOUSE' IN KYRGYZSTAN,

SAYS STAFF HAVE KEY ROLE IN HELPING NATION

This is the text of remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the opening of the United Nations House in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 20 October:

It is a great pleasure indeed to be here with you today.  First, because I am among my own family.  I am fortunate in that wherever I travel as Secretary-General, even to very remote areas, I have family there –- the United Nations family.  I am always impressed to hear first-hand about the work you are doing for the world’s people, and to see the dedication you bring to the job. 

So, let me start with a big “thank you” to all of you for the work you are doing here for the people of Kyrgyzstan.

I am also glad to be here because this is an important step in our efforts to make the United Nations a more effective and dynamic organization.  This United Nations House is much more than a building, more than a set of offices, desks and computers.  It is a symbol of your commitment to work better together, and of the very concept on which the United Nations itself was built –- a house of all nations, held together by common bonds.

I hope by now you have read my latest report on strengthening the United Nations, in which I set out “an agenda for further change” that builds on the reforms of recent years.  Some of the most important changes I am proposing are ones that must occur here, at the country level.

This is our real proving ground.  It is here that our contact with people is closest, and here that our success or failure will be judged.  Unless we can make a real difference to the lives of people in developing and transition countries, such as Kyrgyzstan, we will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and the United Nations will not justify its continued existence in the twenty-first century.

Joint programming, pooling of resources, common databases –- these are some of the steps that should be explored to ensure that you can do your work better.

The people of Kyrgyzstan look to you with great expectation.  The Government has embarked on an ambitious project to strengthen local government –- to which the latest Kyrgyz Human Development Report has already made an important

contribution.  More generally, it is seeking to democratize power structures throughout the country and revive Kyrgyzstan’s reputation as a country committed to human rights and democracy –- which of course was the theme of this year’s global Human Development Report. 

Kyrgyzstan was also the driving force behind the General Assembly’s splendid decision to proclaim this year, 2002, the worldwide Year of Mountains.  And, as we look around us at the wonderful Kyrgyz landscape, we can see that there would be no more appropriate setting for next week’s Global Mountain Summit.

So I think we can say that Kyrgyzstan is on the United Nations wavelength, and vice versa.  But, of course, it also faces very severe problems, which is why it needs your help.

You are here to work with the Kyrgyz people in overcoming the tensions revealed by the recent crisis, and in preventing this beautiful country from being engulfed in conflict, whether external or internal, or –- as so often happens –- a mixture of the two.  I know that the United Nations Development Programme is showing the way with its magnificent preventive development project in Batken Province, and I know that you, Mr. President, have expressed eagerness to cooperate with the United Nations and other international organizations on conflict prevention.  We will certainly do our best to help.

In closing, I would like to thank the Government for making these fine premises available to the United Nations.  Let this house be a meeting place for all partners in the noble work of building peace and well-being for the people of Kyrgyzstan.  In that spirit, I am pleased to join you, Mr. President, in declaring this United Nations House "open for business".

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