ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SWITZERLAND, 23 - 29 JANUARY
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived from New York in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, 23 January.
Monday afternoon, he received an update on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire from his Special Representative to that country, Pierre Schori, who had stopped in Geneva on his way to New York.
He also met that day with Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.
On Tuesday, he visited the Headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, where he met with the Committee’s President, Jacques Rogge, and senior IOC officials and discussed collaboration between the two organizations.
Both President Rogge and the Secretary-General stressed the “excellent collaboration” between their organizations, especially over the last few years, during which the IOC has signed cooperation agreements with several specialized agencies of the United Nations and, in partnership with them, has developed joint programmes to promote education, health care (particularly the prevention of HIV/AIDS), environmental issues and the role of women in sport and society.
He also visited the Olympic Museum, spoke to the IOC staff and had a brief press encounter with the IOC President.
To the IOC staff, Mr. Annan noted that Governments take the potential of sports seriously. As one sign of that, he said, the General Assembly has supported the revival of the ancient concept of the Olympic Truce and has urged all countries to observe the truce during the Winter Olympics in Turin.
The Secretary-General then visited the headquarters of the International Football Federation (FIFA) in Zurich, where he and FIFA President Joseph Blatter reiterated their support for the role of sports, and football in particular, to peace and development.
On Wednesday, the Secretary-General attended the opening media lunch at the World Economic Forum, on “The Impact of Sports in the World”.
Together with the leaders of the IOC and FIFA, and Klaus Schwab, the Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, he talked about sports as a powerful tool for fostering understanding, tolerance and peace, noting that the United Nations is drawing increasingly on the potential of sport in its work around the world.
The Secretary-General said he believed the period of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Turin is long enough for people who are destroying their own countries and killing each other to pause for a moment, look around them and see the damage they are doing. He added, “Hopefully some of them will not pick up the weapons again and realize there is another way.” (See Press Release SG/SM/10323.)
The Secretary-General also held a number of meetings with the leaders from the business and political world and opinion makers gathered at Davos. Among them, he met with Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and also had a tête-à-tête meeting with Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He also met with Guy Ryder, General-Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; Richard Clark, President of Merck & Co.; Mark Moody Stuart, Chairman of Anglo-American and Chairman of Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS; and Flavio Cotti, former Federal Councillor of Switzerland.
On Thursday, the Secretary-General addressed the plenary discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on the subject, “A New Mindset for the United Nations”.
The Secretary-General said that, during his years in office, he had tried to change the mindset that sees international relations as nothing more than relations between States, and the United Nations as little more than a trade union for Governments.
“My objective”, he said, “has been to persuade both the Member States and my colleagues in the Secretariat that the United Nations needs to engage not only with Governments but with people.” (See Press Release SG/SM/10325.)
The Secretary-General spoke to a panel of leaders, who were to then discuss the subject. That panel included some potential candidates for the Secretary-General’s job.
Earlier Thursday, he took part in a workshop on “Taking Action to End Hunger” and held a number of bilateral meetings. Among them were those with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. He also met with Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group; European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson; Peter Piot, Executive Director of UN/AIDS; and Peter Sutherland, his recently appointed Special Representative for Migration.
In a conference call Thursday evening, the Secretary-General talked with the other members of the Middle East Quartet -- consisting of the United Nations, European Union, United States and the Russian Federation -- on the Palestinian Legislative Council elections.
In a statement issued afterward, the Quartet called on all parties to respect the results of the 25 January election and the outcome of the Palestinian constitutional process so that it may unfold in an atmosphere of calm and security. (See Press Release SG/2103.)
On Friday morning in Davos, the Secretary-General met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to review a proposal and plan of action, which the Turkish Prime Minister had put forward. The Secretary-General undertook to study the plan.
Before leaving Davos for Zurich, the Secretary-General met with Brazil’s Ambassador Celso Amorim, and with his Goodwill Ambassador, Michael Douglas. He had also met with Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt while in Davos.
In Zurich, the Secretary-General and Nane Annan marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust by meeting with Auschwitz survivors, ranging from the ages of 82 to 91, as well as a group of young members affiliated with the International Auschwitz Committee.
In comments to the press afterwards he said, “The fate of the victims of the Holocaust should be a warning for all of us that we live in a world where ... you have modernism mixed with barbarism and we should be vigilant in trying to ensure that what happened is never repeated and that the young people should take this message.”
He also noted that there are bigots today who would deny that the holocaust occurred and that should be countered. “You start with humiliations, you start with racism, you demean the other and before you know it has moved on to incredible levels”, he said.
On Sunday, the Secretary-General issued a statement from Geneva on Côte d’Ivoire. (See Press Release SG/SM/10328.)
The Secretary-General left Geneva for The Hague, Netherlands, on Sunday afternoon, 29 January.