Receiving honour in Kenya, Secretary-General stresses need to prevent

country-specific problems from becoming regional issues

 

Following is the text of remarks today by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan upon receiving, from Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki the Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart Kenya Statehouse in Nairobi:

It is an honour to receive this honour.  Kenya is the home for the United Nations.  We have two important agencies based here, UNEP [the United Nations Environment Programme] and UN-HABITAT [the United Nations Human Settlements Programme], but we also have all the UN agencies, funds and programmes operating here in Kenya and Mr. President, I am pleased to tell you that they have all felt at home, felt welcome and have been well looked after here. And I hope we, in turn, have been good citizens and haven’t caused you any problems.

But let me thank you, Mr. President, and the Government and people of Kenya, for the sustained support you have given me throughout the 10 years.  It has been 10 special years -- difficult, frustrating at times, but exciting and challenging.  Throughout, I was also very conscious of the needs of this continent and the need for us to work together.  And to work to resolve the conflicts that have disfigured this continent and caused so much problems for our brothers and sisters in certain countries and today we see it in your region, in Somalia, we have it in Darfur, we have it in other parts of the continent and, unless we resolve these conflicts, it is going to be very difficult for us to focus on the essential issue of social and economic development.  Nobody invests in a bad neighbourhood and there are people in the broader world who see Africa as a continent in crisis, a continent in conflict.  And yet sometimes, when Governments try to advise their neighbours, try to tell them to adopt the right policies, to respect the rights of their people, we are told, this is internal affairs, internal business, don’t get involved.

And we ourselves -- I know, Mr. President, I’m not revealing any secrets -- African Presidents tend to be reticent in interfering in internal affairs of others.  But these problems, these crises, whether it is in Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, they don’t remain internal for very long.  It becomes sooner or later a problem for the whole region.  It throws up refugees, guns move into the region destabilizing societies and so, as I leave, I hope the African leaders will see a problem of their neighbour as theirs and intervene sooner rather than later, intervene before it becomes a regional problem.  And I have also tried to give emphasis to the three pillars of the United Nations work -- that is the area of peace and security, development, human rights and the rule of law.  As I leave the Organization, I am very pleased that the Member States have accepted that our work should rest on these three pillars -- that you cannot enjoy development without security and you cannot enjoy security without development, and you will not enjoy either for long unless you have respect for human rights and the rule of law.  And this is the idea that we try to share with Governments when we push for good governance.

Yes our continent has many problems, including HIV/AIDS, large unemployment, difficult agricultural situation, food security and I hope when I am out of my current position that I will be able to work with some of the leaders to encourage agricultural productivity in our continent.

We are the only continent that did not go through the green revolution and the only continent that cannot feed itself.  And, as I said, as we move on, things are going to be much, much more difficult, so we need to really begin to focus on the essential area of agriculture which also creates lots of employment for the rural population.

I didn’t come here to lecture, I came here to join you, for us to deal with the environment.  My colleagues, Achim Steiner [Executive Director, UN Environment Programme] and Anna Tibaijuka [Executive Director of UN-HABITAT] and all the 5,000 delegates who are here to discuss the environment and to let the world know that climate change is taking place.  We have all the scientific knowledge, we don’t need additional science to tell us and, I think, in fact, given the changes in climate that you have seen around you here, particularly those who have been here for a while, from drought to floods, we see it around us wherever we go.  But we do have the power to change things.  Governments can change their policy.  We can aim for green technology.  Individuals have power.  You have power through the purchases you make, the choices you make, the pressure you put on your elected leaders to pay attention to the environment.  I think it is a Kenyan proverb that says, "The earth is not ours, it is a treasure we hold in trust for future generations."  Let us be worthy of that trust and once again, Mr. President, I want to thank you for the wonderful support I have received from you throughout.

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For information media • not an official record