NewsMax.com Wires
Saturday, June 30, 2001

The 189-state General Assembly accepted the recommendation of the Security Council, whose 15 members had voted Wednesday, by acclamation, to appoint Annan for another term.

Bangladesh Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdury, this month's rotating president of the Security Council, made the formal request to the General Assembly. He praised Annan for what he described as achievements in "peacekeeping," development, preventive diplomacy and U.N. reform.

His proposal was unanimously adopted, followed by a long applause when the assembly's president, Harri Holkeri of Finland, announced the result of the vote.

Invited to take the podium, Annan said in his acceptance speech that the assembly's decision was a "great honor." He remarked that it was not up to him to judge his performance, but to continue to fulfill his duties in the best possible fashion.

He quoted one of his predecessors, Dag Hammarksjold, saying that nobody who accepts the post of secretary-general could do so "knowing what it means, except for a sense of duty."

He recalled that Hammarksjold, who served between 1953 and 1961, when he was killed in an airplane accident in Congo, had said the job was "as deeply rewarding as it is exacting."

"I labor under a constant sense of obligation to you, the members of the organization, to all the peoples of the world that you represent and, in particular, to my fellow Africans, whom you have honored in my person today," Annan said. He is a native of Ghana.

"At the same time, I am sustained by a profound feeling of gratitude for the confidence you have placed in me and for the encouragement and support I have received from so many quarters," he said.

He praised the staff and said that "their dedication to the service of mankind is constant and unswerving. Whatever I have achieved I owe it to their commitment and support."

Annan, who is 63, joined United Nations in 1963, serving in different capacities in its administration until he was elected secretary-general in 1996.

He called U.N. "an indispensable institution." "I have sought to speak out in defense of those who cannot speak for themselves, for the right of the poorest to development and the right of the weakest and most vulnerable to protection."

Representatives of African, Arab and Latin American nations who spoke after him praised him for his dedication and pointed out his efforts to present the world organization under a new light.

The U.S. charge d'affaires, James Cunningham, who spoke on behalf of the host country, also praised Annan's wife, Nane, who is Swedish, for her support of the secretary-general.

In remarks to reporters after the meeting, Annan also thanked the media for their support.

No Answers to Inconvenient Questions, Ho Ho

In a characteristic display of his proverbial sense of humor, he quipped, "You have asked many questions [during his first four years]. Sometimes you got answers; sometimes you didn't get answers. I hope in those occasions when you didn't get answers, you also realized that I was wise not to answer them."

Annan's re-election was unprecedented in that he was appointed six months ahead of the end of his first term. Under normal circumstances, the General Assembly would have elected the secretary-general during its regular session, which begins in September.

Under an informal agreement for the election of the secretary-general, the largest regions of the world (Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa) alternate in submitting candidates for the post, to give representation to all continents.

In a normal rotation between geographic areas, the Asian group of countries would have been next to nominate a candidate, because Annan had replaced Boutros Boutros Ghali of Egypt, who served five years, in 1996.

Annan's first term would have marked the end of a decade in which Africa has held the post. The rotation term, so far, had been every 10 years.

The Asians had been apparently unable to agree on a candidate. Diplomatic sources said they were "appalled" at the overwhelming support Annan mustered from all delegations.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
United Nations
A product that might interest you:
Get your Web site listed on NewsMax.com - reach millions for pennies!