ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SWITZERLAND, 6 - 11 OCTOBER
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, after arriving in Geneva on Thursday morning, 6 October, addressed the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the first such meeting since António Guterres took up his duties as head of the organization.
His statement to the UNHCR Executive Committee meeting at the Palais des Nations that afternoon focused on the outcome of the World Summit in New York and what it meant for the humanitarian community, and the refugee agency in particular.
He noted the agreement reached to establish a Peacebuilding Commission and welcomed High Commissioner Guterres’ determination to have the UNHCR play a proactive role in supporting its work.
He also applauded the commitment by the UNHCR to strengthen its efforts to protect internally displaced people, and to take a lead role in assuring emergency shelter and coordination in the camps. (See Press Release SG/SM/10145 issued on 6 October.)
The address followed a working lunch with the UNHCR leadership, who briefed him on the state of the world’s refugees.
On Thursday afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Detlev Mehlis, head of the United Nations International Independent Investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Mr. Mehlis gave an update on the report he is working on.
A visit to the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters followed. There, the Secretary-General met with Director-General Lee Jong-wook and then visited the Strategic Health Operations Centre, which monitors and responds to public health emergencies such as avian flu. And he heard a series of presentations on WHO efforts to control avian flu and polio and other diseases around the world.
On avian flu treatment, the Secretary-General told reporters after that visit, “I would appeal to leaders around the world to come together, to pool their efforts, to make the resources available and to assist those countries which do not have capacity to set up their own systems because we are in this together.”
Specifically, he said, “we need to be able to organize ourselves in such a way that we will be able to help them either by raising funds from (the) donor community, encouraging pharmaceutical companies and others to be helpful, making sure that we do not allow intellectual property to get into the way of access of the poor to medication, and allowing for emergency production of vaccine in the developing countries”.
On Friday, the Secretary-General travelled to the Swiss capital, Bern, on an official visit, during which he discussed with Swiss leaders United Nations reform and the outcome of the World Summit, Kosovo, Iraq, Lebanon, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Iran, migration and Switzerland’s contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The discussions were held during a meeting with President Samuel Schmid and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and continued into a working luncheon at the Lohn official residence on the city outskirts.
At a press encounter following the luncheon, the Secretary-General told reporters that he was delighted to have just learned that this year’s Nobel Peace award was given to the International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei.
“I think it’s a message to all of us that we should take the issue of non-proliferation and disarmament very, very seriously”, he said.
“I hope that this award will wake us all up”, he added. “They need our support, and I hope the leaders of the world will pay attention.”
At the press encounter, he answered questions on Kosovo, Iraq, migration, United Nations reform, and the work of the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Lord’s Resistance Army leaders.
Back in Geneva, he met later Friday with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Yoshio Utsumi.
On Saturday afternoon, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan visited the exhibition “We the peoples ... families and development”. This major exhibition of 180 large-format photographs by Uwe Ommer, illustrating the diversity of families throughout the world and highlighting the Millennium Development Goals, is on display this autumn on the Quai Wilson along the lake in Geneva. The exhibition forms part of a series of events organized to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations.
Then on Saturday night, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a “United Against Malaria” concert featuring Youssou N’Dour that brought together musicians from five continents at the Geneva arena. In front of thousands of people gathered at the concert, the Secretary-General told the audience that the event demonstrated a growing international will to combat the disease.
“This is not an event. It’s a movement”, he told the cheering crowd. “Collectively, you can make a huge difference.” (See Press Release SG/SM/10149 issued on 10 October.)
On Monday, 10 October, the Secretary-General addressed a symposium of Swiss bankers and other leading members of the Geneva financial community on microfinance and small business finance, aimed at contributing to the United Nations Year of Microcredit 2005.
“Microfinance is gaining acceptance”, he said, saying that where businesses are given a chance to develop, countries are more likely to flourish. The Secretary-General added, “Where people have a stake, a start, a piece of ownership, they are more likely to prosper.” (See Press Release SG/SM/10151 issued on 10 October.)
The Secretary-General then gave a press conference to the Geneva press corps at the Palais des Nations. In response to that weekend’s earthquake in South Asia, the Secretary-General told reporters he had directed the United Nations humanitarian community to do everything possible to assist the Government of Pakistan in its response. He also discussed the situation concerning migrants in the Mediterranean region, drawing attention to the broader issue of international migration, which he said would consume far more of the world’s energies in the years ahead.
He answered questions on a number of topics including United Nations reform, the deteriorating situation in Darfur, concerns over a possible avian flu pandemic, Iraq, trade and development, the future of Kosovo and recent developments in the Horn of Africa. (See Press Release SG/SM/10154 issued on 11 October.)
On Monday afternoon, the Secretary-General visited the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) headquarters, and met with a group of HIV-positive staff, whom he applauded for their courage at helping to bring down the barriers of discrimination.
Among his meetings on Monday were those with Mohamed Sahnoun, his Special Adviser on Africa; Adolf Ogi, his Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace; and Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
He also recorded a radio message to be broadcast to the people of Liberia on the occasion of the 11 October elections.
After meeting with the Chairman of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Ambassador Janis Karklins of Latvia, the Secretary-General left Geneva at midday on Tuesday for Lisbon, Portugal.