ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SWITZERLAND AND ITALY, 6 - 10 APRIL

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Geneva early Wednesday, 6 April.  He held a series of private meetings in the afternoon.

He began his programme Thursday morning, with a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, which was followed by a session with her senior staff.

The entire headquarters staff of the High Commissioner’s office then gathered for an informal exchange with the Secretary-General, during which he made remarks and took about a half-dozen questions.

The UN Human Rights Commission was holding its sixty-first session at the Palais des Nations, and the Secretary-General went there to meet with the current chairperson, Makarim Wibosono, and to address the Commission.

In his speech, he referred to the appalling suffering in Darfur, Sudan, saying that “for all of us, as individuals and as an institution, this situation is a test”, adding that “for thousands of men, women and children, our response is already too late”.  But he also raised the issue of those whose plight is less well known -- the weak, the poor and the vulnerable.  “To all”, he said, “our responsibility under the Charter is clear:  we must do more to promote and protect fundamental rights and freedoms.”

“Nobody has a monopoly on human rights virtue”, he observed.  “Abuses are found in rich countries, as well as poor.”  And unless we remake our human rights machinery, he went on, “we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nations itself”.

He then reviewed his proposals for an overhaul of the UN’s human rights sector, in the treaty bodies, the Office of the High Commissioner and the intergovernmental machinery.

“Human rights are the core of the United Nations’ identity”, he concluded.  “Men and women everywhere expect us to uphold universal ideals.  They need us to be their ally and protector.  They want to believe we can help unmask bigotry and defend the rights of the weak and voiceless.”

He went on, “For too long now, we have indulged this view of our own capabilities.  But the gap between what we seem to promise, and what we actually deliver, has grown.  The answer is not to draw back from an ambitious human rights agenda, but to make the improvements that will enable our machinery to live up to the world’s expectations.  Our constituents will not understand or accept any excuse if we fail to act.”  (See Press Release SG/SM/9808-HR/CN/1108.)

At a press encounter after the speech, the Secretary-General was asked about his reading of the morale of the staff in Geneva, and he said, “We’re all human.  When your Organization is being criticized and being knocked, it does affect morale.  But I think we are beginning to turn a corner.”

Another journalist asked him about his recommendation that his reform proposals be considered as a package and that, therefore, lack of agreement on Security Council reform could hold up everything.  The Secretary-General replied that he did not intend to convey the message of “take it or leave it”, but simply that the package should be looked at comprehensively.

He was also asked whether his idea of creating a human rights council in place of the Human Rights Commission would result in moving that body from Geneva to New York, and he reassured the questioner, saying he thought the High Commissioner’s office was working very well in Geneva.

In the afternoon, he went to the headquarters of the High Commissioner for Refugees, where he met privately with Acting High Commissioner Wendy Chamberlin and Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane.  He then addressed the staff at large in the atrium of the building, where he took questions on former High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers and the timing of the naming of his successor, staff security, particularly in Darfur, and gender parity, among other issues.

The Secretary-General left Geneva on Thursday evening for Rome, where on Friday he attended the funeral service for Pope John Paul II.  In an address to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva earlier on Thursday, he said of the Pope:

"He was an irreplaceable voice speaking out for peace, for religious freedom, and for mutual respect and understanding between different faiths.  Even as we mourn his loss, I hope all of us who are concerned with human rights can pledge ourselves to preserve those aspects of his legacy."

He returned to Switzerland Friday evening, and travelled to Mont Pelerin at the east end of Lake Geneva to chair the twice-yearly meeting of heads of UN agencies, funds and programmes who make up the Chief Executives Board (CEB).

He began with a meeting with Micheline Calmy-Rey, the Foreign Minister of Switzerland.  The Foreign Minister then hosted a dinner in honour of the members of the CEB.

The Board met in private session all day Saturday.  In a press release issued at the conclusion of the last session, it was said that their discussions focused on efforts to implement the Millennium Declaration, collaborate on conflict prevention, support African development and work towards UN reform, not just of the Secretariat but of the entire system.

The executives expressed their support for the Secretary-General's reform agenda, unveiled last month in his report "In Larger Freedom", and underlined the importance of it being implemented at the September Summit.

On Sunday, 10 April, the Secretary-General flew to Oslo, Norway, where on Monday he would open the Oslo Donors' Conference on Sudan.