Note to Correspondents

Note No 164
12 October 2001

 

DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT VIENNA WELCOMES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARD TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS SECRETARY-GENERAL, KOFI ANNAN

 

VIENNA, 12 October (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Office at Vienna has welcomed the decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize, in two equal portions, to the United Nations and to its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world.

"It is a great honour for the United Nations and its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to receive this award," said Mr. Pino Arlacchi, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, "It is a tribute to all the staff who serve the United Nations organisation. To work alongside the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in the pursuit of peace and security in the world is truly a privilege."

Mr. Arlacchi continued: "We are particularly proud to receive this award in its centenary year and we want to acknowledge and echo the sentiments of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in proclaiming that the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations. We will do our utmost to live up to the expectations placed on us."

* *** *