DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES ‘TIMELESS AND PASSIONATE VOICE’ OF TOM LANTOS,

AT LUNCHEON HONOURING LATE UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN

 

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s remarks to the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA) luncheon honouring the late United States Congressman Tom Lantos in New York, 15 December:

It is a great pleasure to be here today.  UNA-USA is among the very best friends of the United Nations.

I want to begin by congratulating Ibrahim Diallo on receiving the Leo Nevas Human Rights Young Advocate award.  He is championing African development, a cause close to my own heart.

[Deputy Secretary-General speaks directly to Mr. Diallo] You have a very promising future, and I trust you will use your many talents to help others.

I am honoured to have this opportunity to join all of you in paying tribute to the late Tom Lantos, who in life gave so much to the United Nations and to the world, and continues to inspire us.

Tom Lantos travelled from the Nazi death camps to the halls of Congress -– from utter powerlessness to the corridors of power.  That in itself is extraordinary.  But even more remarkably, he never forgot where he came from.  Far from leaving behind his painful past, Tom Lantos spoke out as a survivor of genocide.

Although I did not have the privilege of meeting Mr. Lantos, I always admired his work, and I am profoundly grateful to him for championing this United Nations that we both treasure.

His children have continued this tradition.  Earlier this year, his daughter Katrina, who is here with us today, attended the solemn remembrance of victims of the Holocaust that was held here at United Nations Headquarters.  I hope she doesn’t mind if I repeat a very moving story she told there.

A wise rabbi once asked his students how they could tell the moment when night ends and dawn arrives.  One student replied that it was when a man in the woods can tell a dog from a wolf.  No, the rabbi shook his head.

Another student thought it is when a man walking through a village can tell the difference between his own house and others.  Wrong again, said the rabbi.

Finally, the rabbi explained that the moment you know that night has turned to day is when you see the face of a stranger and recognize him as your brother.

Tom Lantos always knew that strangers are our brothers.  His legacy reminds us that we must dedicate ourselves to making the world a better place for the entire human family.

Tom Lantos showed that this is the greatest way to live.  He left this world happy and satisfied, knowing that he had done all he could for his family, his country and the world.

And he left all of us a shining example of how one man beaten down by the most atrocious crimes can rise up and inspire countless others to stand up for what is right and just.

The timeless and passionate voice of Tom Lantos will resound even louder in the years to come, in the United States, at the United Nations and across the world.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record