United Nations

Two-Day Session in Ulaanbaatar, 8-10 May

 NEW YORK, 8 May (UN Headquarters) -- Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, delivered today in salute to Mongolia’s hosting of an international workshop on human security:

 It gives me great pleasure to convey my greetings to the Government and people of Mongolia and to salute Mongolia's initiative in hosting an international workshop that will explore, in practical terms, the meaning of human security and its implications for national and regional security.  I am glad that the United Nations is participating in this endeavour.

 At the dawn of the twenty-first century, a new understanding of security is emerging, in which the need for a more human-centred approach is paramount.  It is time to identify ways to convert this new concept into a set of concrete, achievable goals.

 Human security, in its broadest sense, embraces far more than the absence of violent conflict.  It encompasses human rights, good governance, access to education and health care and ensuring that each individual has opportunities and choices to fulfil his or her potential.  Every step in this direction is also a steep towards reducing poverty, achieving economic growth and preventing conflict.  Freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to inherit a healthy natural environment -- these are the interrelated building blocks of human -- and therefore national -- security.

 This workshop will be of interest to many other United Nations Member States, which are devoting increasing attention to the issue of human security and will certainly discuss it at the Millennium Summit in New York in September.  It is an important element in the implementation of General Assembly 
resolution 53/77D on Mongolia's international security and nuclear-weapons-free status.  And it may also contribute to Mongolia's efforts to cope with a terribly harsh winter that has brought real calamity to so many Mongolians.  For all these reasons, and in a spirit of partnership between Mongolia and the United Nations, I wish you the best for a stimulating and productive workshop.