Dharamsala, November 29 – The Nobel Peace Prize laureates have a role to play in the current debate about reform to the United Nations and the international system, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday.
In a message to the Fourth World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, held in Rome, the Secretary-General pointed out that he has recently set up a high-level panel on threats and challenges to international security after a year when events “have shaken the foundations of collective security”.
The Panel, he said, would recommend “clear and practical measures for ensuring effective collective action”. Urging the Laureates to play their part in shaping the ultimate decisions that emerge from the debate surrounding the global system, Mr. Annan said he hoped they would “always see the UN as a valuable ally in the global struggle for development, human rights and peace.”
Shalini Dewan, Director of the UN Information Centre, delivered the message.
Twenty-five people including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Michail Gorbachev and Shimon Perez who had received the world’s most prestigious peace prize are in Rome for the summit of Nobel Laureates.
