| Annan Calls for Engagement
When humankind is better equipped than ever to tackle the
plight of the poor, the spread of AIDS, the destruction of
the environment, inequality and barriers to a fair trade,
those issues may “fall victim to short attention spans
or narrow notions of national interest,” United Nations
Secretary General, Kofi Annan said in a message to the Forum
yesterday.
“I share your anxiety” about the possibility
of war in Iraq, nuclear proliferation in North Korea, violence
in the Middle East and terror, Annan says in his letter, “and
want to assure you of my determination to continue doing my
utmost to address them in accordance with the tenets of international
law and the principles set out in the United Nations Charter”.
The Millennium Development Goals adopted by the U.N. at the
turn of the century “constitute powerful objectives
that every man and woman on the street, from New York to Nairobi
to New Delhi, can easily support and understand,” he
says.
Civil society groups must continue their activism, holding
governments to their promises, while at the same time cooperate
with them in international committments, working in partnership
with them, the U.N. system and the private sector.
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