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UNA NZ acknowledges the passing of Kofia Annan
The President of the United Nations Association, Peter
Nichols, alongside the members of the United Nations
Association of New Zealand have acknowledged the sad passing
the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan, with a letter of condolence
to his family.
UNA NZ was deeply saddened by the
passing of such an esteemed United Nations Rangatira and
remember him as a champion of Peace and Human Rights who
often embodied the world’s moral conscience in times of
great complexity and risk.
Mr Annan’s career with
the United Nations began in 1962 with the World Health
Organisation, a United Nations agency. He later progressed
to work in three consecutive positions as assistant
Secretary-General including in Peace Keeping Operations
during the Rwandan Genocide.
During his tenure as the
seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Annan
was challenged both with conflict, including the US invasion
of Iraq of which Mr Annan was most critical, and
administratively as he reformed the United Nations
bureaucracy to better respond to the needs of the
International Community. As Mr Nichols remembered, “Mr
Annan made one of the most valuable contributions to the
world in one of the most demanding areas at a time of
immense complexity with significant risks.” Mr Annan is
also remembered for his work with HIV/AIDS including his
issuance of a five-point Call to Action in April 2001 to
address the pandemic and his call to create a Global AIDS
and Health Fund.
In retirement, Mr Annan was
involved in a number of organisations with global focus
including founding and lead the Kofi Annan Foundation. In
2012, Mr Annan expanded upon his legacy of diplomacy and
peace making with his appointment as the UN Arab League
envoy to Syria during which he developed a six-point plan
for peace in efforts to end the civil war.
UNA NZ,
alongside its members, remembers Mr Annan as an incredible
Human Being and thank the Annan family for sharing him with
the rest of humanity.
Mr Nichol’s concluded UNA
NZ’s letter to the Annan family with the following
whakataukī acknowledging with great respect a fallen
chief:
Ka hinga te tõtara o te wao nui a Tāne
The falling of a great Tõtara tree in the great forest of Tāne.
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