PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED NATIONS MESSENGERS OF PEACE

PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED NATIONS MESSENGERS OF PEACE

“Commitments begin with words”, one of four prominent United Nations Messengers of Peace said at a Headquarters press conference this morning as the group spoke of the encouragement they had gained from the final document of the recent World Summit in their respective fields of advocacy.

Responding to a question regarding concern over the outcome document’s lack of commitments to timeframes, Nobel Laureate and human rights activist Elie Wiesel said, “We hope these words will be implemented.”  While the Summit had not covered everything, there were good passages on terrorism, the most important issue of today.  Biological and chemical weapon threats were an even greater danger than nuclear terrorism.

He said he had long believed terrorism should be legally declared a crime against humanity, adding that given all the criticism heard about the United Nations, the Organization was now “part of our awareness, part of our moral obligation and also our aspirations”.  It was there to protect the weak and defenceless.  The World Summit was good because it had received “all the complaints, all the remarks, all the suggestions”.  The machinery was starting to work and now was the time to translate all those ideas into action.

Also attending the press conference, held in conjunction with the annual observance of the International Day of Peace, were Anna Cataldi, author, journalist and human rights activist, particularly on behalf of children affected by war; Michael Douglas, actor, producer and vocal supporter of disarmament issues; and Jane Goodall, primatologist and environmentalist.  The four Messengers of Peace are among nine appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Ms. Cataldi, noted the importance of language, saying, “If we just go back to the wars in Bosnia and Rwanda, there were discussions about whether we were allowed to use the word ‘genocide’ or not.”  During a visit to Sumatra, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had been asked to leave the country and not assist people in distress because the Indonesian Government in Jakarta did not consider the people “refugees” but rather “internally displaced persons”, a legal reference that highlighted the importance of language.

Ms. Goodall said that if a Government agreed to something, even if it lacked “teeth” because it carried no timeline, it provided a framework for those active in a given field to go to work on their own.  It provided greater leeway for non-governmental organizations, for example, to step into the void and act, even when Governments did not.

Mr. Douglas expressed disappointment at the Summit’s silence on disarmament, but added, “As an outside observer, I certainly judge the glass as half full.  Just judging by our own country and watching what happens in a two-party system, and how little agreement can be reached, to have 160 leaders out of 191 countries here and to have agreed upon a Summit in itself is quite an extraordinary effort.”  While several of the agreements reached by the Summit were impressive, particularly those relating to genocide and terrorism, the most embarrassing disappointment was disarmament.  “I think the [United Nations] should be completely embarrassed that we could not come up with any wording or phrasing regarding the issues of nuclear proliferation, comprehensive test ban treaties, non-proliferation, as well as small arms and light weapons.”

Ms. Goodall said, “With the threat of nuclear war still hanging over us, and with no firm commitment to non-proliferation, this is for the whole future of mankind and the environment, pretty shocking.”  There was a need to follow up on the commitments.  “It’s up to those of us who care -- and that should be every single person -- to make sure that whatever Heads of State say, we are going to work for the environment for our children.”  Environmental degradation often forced people to leave their homes and up until now, there had been no legal framework in which to help them.

To a correspondent who asked where the United Nations should now place its emphasis, Mr. Wiesel said the Organization needed “imagination”.  If there were a crisis in the world, the United Nations should be able to send a task force, within 24 hours, of the world’s 10 most important people.  “If it’s a Chernobyl -- send the best scientists; hunger -- send the best nutritionists in the world.  The UN should do that because it has the structure.  What it needs is imagination.”

Ms. Goodall added that the today’s youth worldwide knew a lot more about the UN, which should start to make a difference.

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For information media • not an official record