GENERAL ASSEMBLY DONATES 2001 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARD TO MEMORIAL FUND ESTABLISHED
BY SECRETARY-GENERAL
Will Support Education for Children
Of Staff Who Have Died in Service of Peace
NEW YORK, 29 May (UN Headquarters) -- The General Assembly this morning decided that the Organization’s portion of the Nobel Peace Prize award be donated to the United Nations Nobel Peace Prize Memorial Fund, to support the education of the children of United Nations staff members who had given their lives in the service of peace.
The Secretary-General had decided to donate his share of the Prize award for the purpose of establishing the Fund. In a letter to the President of the Assembly, contained in document A/57/816, the Secretary-General sought the concurrence of the Assembly to his proposal that the Organization’s share be used in the same way.
Assembly President Jan Kavan (Czech Republic) expressed his satisfaction with the Assembly’s decision. He echoed the Secretary-General’s belief that the dedicated staff of the United Nations had made the Organization worthy of the award and, therefore, those members who had made the greatest sacrifice deserved to benefit from the winnings.
Awarded in 2001, in two equal parts, to the United Nations as such, and to its Secretary-General, for their work for a more peaceful world, the Nobel Peace Prize comes with a financial award of approximately $1 million.
The Secretary-General proposed the establishment of the Memorial Fund for the receipt and administration of the proceeds of the Prize. The Fund, which would function as a special account under the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, could also receive and administer further contributions made for the same purpose.
The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. on Friday, 6 June to elect its President for the fifty-eighth session, followed by consecutive meetings of the six Main Committees to elect their Chairpersons, immediately followed by another plenary meeting of the Assembly to elect its Vice-Presidents.
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