S/PV.4390 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council today celebrates, together with the rest of the United Nations family, the award of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and to its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. “The United Nations is the embodiment of cooperation among States in safeguarding peace, advancing international development and combating common threats to the dignity and well-being of peoples everywhere. “The United Nations remains today, in its activities around the world and in the ideals it sets, the best hope for a future in which peoples everywhere can work together to meet common challenges and to advance common goals. “The Security Council today pays special tribute to all the men and women who work for the United Nations, whatever their tasks or duty, wherever they may be in the service of peace. “The decision of the Nobel Committee to award the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and to the Secretary-General reflects the high esteem shared by people throughout the world for Secretary- General Kofi Annan. It rightly honours his exceptional achievements in the service of the United Nations and of the entire international community, as well as honouring the achievements of the United Nations itself. “In warmly congratulating the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, the Council reiterates its own strong support for his efforts in upholding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and for his role in assuring to the Organization its full and rightful place in the world and in leading its search for new ways forward for all men and women in all countries to live their lives with dignity and peace.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2001/28. This is a very happy occasion for the Security Council. It is, I know, a great pleasure for all members of the Council to join the worldwide congratulations for the United Nations and its Secretary-General upon the award for them today, the Nobel Peace Prize. The members of the Council are delighted to welcome Secretary-General Annan among us. I reiterate our welcome to the Secretary-General, and I give him the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for that very generous statement. You have congratulated me, but I should also congratulate you and all the members of the Council, present and past alike. In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has, of course, honoured the Security Council, which has, under the Charter, the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Indeed, it has honoured all parts of the Organization, and above all, as you have said, the men and women who work for the United Nations in the service of peace, wherever they may be. Those women and men work hard every day to make this world a more just, more peaceful and happier place for all its inhabitants. Many of them risk their lives, and they deserve this award richly. A year ago at the Millennium Summit, our heads of State and Government reaffirmed the indispensable role of the United Nations as the common house of the entire human family. Now the Nobel Committee has used this prize, in its own words, “to proclaim that the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations”. In a world that is growing ever closer and more interconnected, and yet is still torn by brutal conflicts and cruel injustice, it is more important than ever that humanity travel that route, the route described by the Nobel Committee, and that all of us work hard to pave the road ahead of it. All of us who work at the United Nations should feel proud today, but also humble, because even more will be expected of us in the future, and perhaps in the near future. This award is a tribute, above all, to our colleagues who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of humanity. The only true prize for them and for us will be peace itself.

I thank the Secretary-General for his comments and, on behalf of all Council members, again congratulate him. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.