wfn.org | LWF Welcomes Nobel Peace Prize Award to Annan and United Nations

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

Recognition Affirms Relevance of UN Body

GENEVA, 12 October 2001 (LWI) - Today's award of the 2001 Nobel
Peace Prize to the United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi
Annan affirms the continuing relevance of the UN in a world rife
with conflict, and the hope which the global body represents, says
Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary, Lutheran World Federation
(LWF). 

In a statement today the LWF "strongly endorses" the award by the
Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee, and notes that the September
11 terrorist attacks against the United States of America and their
aftermath underline the importance of a multilateral approach to
conflict prevention and peace promotion in the world today.

The peace prize committee said Annan and the UN had been recognized
for their effort to build peace throughout the world. The 2000 Nobel
laureate, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was honored for his
work toward unification of his country and communist North Korea.

In his statement Noko pays tribute to Annan's leadership of the UN,
saying he has breathed "new life and purpose" into the world body,
and provided moral challenge to the international community in
addressing urgent global concerns such as conflict, the HIV/AIDS
pandemic, and the plight of the poor and marginalized. "A son of
Africa," Annan, 63, has particularly provided inspiration "to the
peoples of the continent of his birth," a majority of whom are
directly affected by many of these issues.

Annan, a Ghanaian national, assumed office in 1997 and was elected
to a second five-year term last June. He is the second UN
secretary-general to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Dag Hammarskjold
from Sweden was honored posthumously in 1961. Other UN organizations
that have won the century-old peace prize include the UN
Peace-KeepingForces (1988), Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR - 1981 and 1954) and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF -
1965). 

The LWF collaborates with the UN and its related bodies in
humanitarian assistance work worldwide through the Department for
World Service, and in human rights and peace issues through the
Geneva-based Office for International Affairs and Human Rights. 

The full text of Dr. Noko's statement follows: 

Statement by
Dr. Ishmael Noko
General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation

on the award of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations
and to Secretary-General Kofi Annan

12 October 2001

The Lutheran World Federation strongly endorses the award of the
2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and its serving
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The events of 11 September and their
ongoing aftermath have underlined again the critical importance of
multilateralism in preventing conflict and promoting peace in the
modern world. The United Nations is the embodiment of a multilateral
approach to peace promotion, emphasizing dialogue,
consensus-building and cooperation as the keys to a peaceful future.

Secretary-General Annan is widely credited with breathing new life
and purpose into the United Nations organization. A son of Africa,
he has provided leadership and moral challenge to the entire
international community in addressing the pressing issues of
conflict in different parts of the world, the ongoing HIV/AIDS
pandemic, and the plight of the poor and marginalized in the global
marketplace. He has given special inspiration to the peoples of the
continent of his birth, who are carrying particularly heavy burdens
in many of these areas.

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and to
Secretary-General Annan is an affirmation of the continuing
relevance and central importance of the UN in a world riven by
conflict and division, and of the hope of a brighter future which,
in its very existence, it continues to hold forth.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133
member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of
the 64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its
member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development
work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material
presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of
its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the
notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgement.]

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