DELIGHTED SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING UN TANDEM

DELIGHTED SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING UN TANDEM

The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

The Secretary-General is delighted that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2005 has been awarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director-General, Mohamed ElBaradei.  Since 1957, the IAEA has worked tirelessly and expertly to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to promote the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear technology.  Dr. ElBaradei has guided this vital mission with great skill since 1997.

The Secretary-General congratulates him and the entire staff of the Agency, past and present, on their contributions to global peace.  The Prize is a welcome reminder of the acute need to make progress on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament at a time when weapons of mass destruction continue to pose a grave danger to us all.

The Secretary-General is also pleased that with this Prize, the IAEA joins UNHCR, ILO, UNICEF, UN peacekeeping, Ralph Bunche, Dag Hammarskjöld and the UN itself as UN Nobel laureates.

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For information media • not an official record