Secretary-General, in Message to U Thant Institute Luncheon, Says Predecessor’s

Words on Pursuing Middle East Peace Still Ring True Today

(Delayed in transmission.)

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Vijay Nambiar, Under-Secretary-General and Chef de Cabinet, to the U Thant Institute luncheon in Fairfield, Connecticut, on 4 June:

It is a pleasure to convey greetings to all who have gathered for this luncheon devoted to democracy in Africa and the Middle East.

Let me begin by recalling the following words on the Middle East from a United Nations report on the work of the Organization:

“The suspicions, fears and animosities which have characterized the relations between Arabs and Israelis…  have been ever-present and always apparent…  There have been periods of relative quiet, but there was never real peace or the prospect of real peace…  It would be difficult but, I believe, definitely possible to work out in detail a blueprint for the solution of the major Arab-Israel problems…  However, the real and stubborn obstacle… is, unmistakably, the unwillingness of the parties for their own reasons to give consideration to any proposals unless they conform very closely to their long-established and rigidly held positions.”

These words come not from one of my recent annual reports, nor even from those of my four most recent predecessors.  Rather, they date back to U Thant, the man in whose name we gather today.  And they appeared in a report issued shortly after the 1967 hostilities.  Sir Brian Urquhart, one of the Organization’s Under-Secretaries-General at the time, later described U Thant’s efforts first to forestall that fighting and then to deal with its aftermath.

“We all laboured under a crushing sense of failure,” wrote Sir Brian.  “I believe that both U Thant and [Ralph] Bunche suffered irreparable psychological damage from this episode, and the physical health of both steadily declined after it.”

Those sad words may well ring true with others who, over the decades, have made their own dogged efforts to promote peace and progress in the region.  We here today have inherited that challenge, and I encourage us all to persist.  A negotiated two-State solution is fundamentally in the best interest of both Israel and the Palestinians.  It is also more urgent than ever in the context of the historic changes taking place in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Arab Spring is one of the greatest opportunities to advance democracy and human rights in a generation.  But success cannot be assumed.  We can be encouraged by the initial successes in Tunisia and Egypt.  Elsewhere, however, the people’s demands for change have been met with bloodshed and repression — in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.  Looking to the immediate future, it is vital for the countries of North Africa and the Middle East — and anywhere else, for that matter — to listen to their people’s legitimate aspirations.  The international community, for its part, must speak with one voice, and give its fullest possible economic support to counteract steep declines in tourism and investment, capital flight, rising food and energy prices, and refugee burdens.

Africa, too, has made great strides in consolidating democracy.  The recent inauguration of the democratically elected President of Côte d’Ivoire marked the culmination of a long struggle to build peace after years of conflict.  When the man who lost the election would not step down and instead imported mercenaries and exploited ethnic tensions to retain power, the Ivorian people insisted on democracy, and with help from the international community they prevailed.  With many more elections to take place this year in Africa, the message was clear:  people have the right to choose their leaders, and to have their will respected and upheld.

No doubt U Thant would have been deeply engaged, as we are today, in ensuring that the United Nations provides all possible support to these States struggling to consolidate democratic gains.  No doubt he would have ensured that we focus, as indeed we are, on protecting civilians, promoting dialogue, and creating jobs and opportunities, especially for young people and women.  And we can be certain he would have stood up for the fundamental principles at stake in these developments.

Thank you all again for joining together at this event — to honour my illustrious yet so often unheralded predecessor, and to reaffirm our commitment to democracy and peace throughout Africa and the Middle East.

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For information media • not an official record