them to go ahead along the road to a still more forceful and dynamic
United Nations." Han Seung-soo, President of the UN General
Assembly, expressed his hope "that the international community will
view this award as a beacon illuminating the way forward for the United
Nations as it rises to confront new challenges".
Kofi Annan: "Peace must be sought, above all, because it is the
condition for every member of the human family to live a life of
dignity and security"
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Kofi Annan: "No one has
done more than Kofi Annan to revitalize the UN. After taking office as
the UN's seventh Secretary-General in January, 1997, he managed in
a very short time to give the UN an external prestige and an internal
morale the likes of which the organization had hardly seen in its over
fifty-year history, with the possible exception of its very first optimistic
years."
In his acceptance speech Secretary General Kofi Annan stated: "Peace
must be sought, above all, because it is the condition for every member
of the human family to live a life of dignity and security". Annan told UN
staff he hoped that winning the prize "will urge us forward and
encourage all of us to tackle our tasks with even greater determination".
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