IN MESSAGE TO jUNe DAY IN WESTPORT, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS UN AGENDA OF RENEWAL DEPENDS ON SUPPORT OF CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENTS

IN MESSAGE TO jUNe DAY IN WESTPORT, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS UN AGENDA OF RENEWAL

DEPENDS ON SUPPORT OF CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENTS

Following is the text of the message by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the annual jUNe Day for UN delegates and staff in Westport, Connecticut, delivered on 24 June by Jan Beagle, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management:

On this day every year, the United Nations community -- delegates, staff and their families -- converge on Westport, their favourite summer home.  They are welcomed by the people of Westport and the International Hospitality Committee.  Through this fine gesture of generosity, Westport becomes host to the world -- and the people of Westport become citizens of the world.

This year, we meet at a crucial time in the life of the United Nations, as the United Nations works to implement the outcome of last year’s World Summit at UN Headquarters in New York.  Since the Summit, Member States have created a new Peacebuilding Commission, to better manage the difficult transition from war to peace.  They have established a Central Emergency Response Fund to help the victims of humanitarian disasters.  They have created a new Human Rights Council, a historic step that will enable us to restore the Organization’s credibility in this key area.  And a Democracy Fund has been launched to strengthen institutions and ensure that people can exercise their democratic rights.  For my part, I continue to take steps to improve the Organization’s management.  Building on previous rounds of reform, my goal is a more transparent, accountable and effective instrument of service to humankind.

Our success in advancing our agenda of renewal will depend not only on government representatives and international officials.  It will rest on the support of concerned individuals and groups like you -- men and women of all ages, in rich and poor countries alike, thinking and acting as global citizens, with an understanding of the need for all peoples to seize common opportunities and defend against shared threats.  That, after all, is the essence of effective multilateralism.  In that spirit, I am delighted to send you my best wishes for a very happy jUNe Day.

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For information media • not an official record