Deputy Prime Minister: Introducing Kofi Annan.

Tuesday, 08 May 2007

Palace of Westminster Rt Hon John Prescott MP: "It is a great honour for this Parliament, and for members of both Houses gathered here today, to welcome Kofi Annan, the distinguished former Secretary-General of the UN, a position which he held from 1997 to 2006. "Kofi, we are pleased that you could join us in this, our bicentenary year, when we commemorate the passing of the Slave Trade Abolition Act. That piece of legislation was of moral and global significance. And we are looking forward to hearing your comments on these important events. "So it's my great pleasure to welcome you, Kofi, on behalf of the Prime Minister, who is today participating in the historic reopening of the Northern Ireland Assembly - an event which symbolises the enduring United Nations values of peace, democracy and reconciliation. "We welcome you as an outstanding Secretary-General of the United Nations, whose 10 years in office was recognised in the award of a Nobel Peace Prize, where the judges said, "The only negotiable road to global peace and co-operation goes by way of the United Nations. Mr Annan has been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organisation." That was said halfway through your term of office, but it remains true today. "We welcome you as a citizen of Ghana, following the successful State Visit by President Kufuor of Ghana as part of the celebrations of 50 years of independence. "In my visit to Ghana earlier this year, I participated in those celebrations, and commemorated the bicentenary of the legislation passed by this Parliament to ban the evil slave trade. My visit occurred soon after you had a hero's homecoming! Kofi, in those 10 years as Secretary-General, you had to deal with many international issues, often controversial, but which, without the UN, would have been immeasurably more difficult. Some continue, as we are reminded daily in Darfur and elsewhere. "However, I would like to comment on one of your first speeches which was historic, showed great foresight, and had an immediate and personal effect on me. In that speech, to a Special Session of the UN General Assembly in June 1997, you expressed your grave concern that the Rio process for the sustainability of the planet was faltering. Failure could damage our planet irreversibly. "In that speech, you appealed to the leaders of the world, including Tony Blair, to turn political will in deeds and action against the causes of climate change at the coming Kyoto conference. "Tony Blair sent me on a tour of the capitals to get involved in the negotiations to create the momentum for change at Kyoto. That experience taught me the role - not of exhaustion of diplomacy - but diplomacy by exhaustion. At Kyoto, many of the negotiators were ground down by lack of sleep. They lost the will to resist! And because it had already been booked out, the hall had to be vacated within hours of the dawn - a smart tactic by the UN! Nevertheless, it was an historic moment from which further policies to tackle climate change have followed. "Kofi, in your 34 years' service in the United Nations, the world has transformed incredibly. We've gone from the old Cold War to the new hot planet. Vicious local wars and acts of terrorism have supplanted the stand off of the global superpowers. And the massive global movement of capital and labour has been accompanied by new forms of modern day slavery. In an era of bewildering change, in which we need collective action more than ever before, there was a growing loss of confidence (and credibility) in many of our multinational institutions. "Of course huge challenges remain, but Kofi, in the last 10 years, you have played a major part in reforming the United Nations - so that it can reconnect with the people of the world and respond to issues like climate change which demand global solutions to global problems. You ended your term of office as you started it, calling for more reforms - necessary, for example, to meet the obligations of the United Nations resolution on the Outcome of the 2005 World Summit, which stated that "Each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. "There are, as you say, 3 pillars of your reforms, each of which is vital to international, and indeed, national progress. Firstly: the need for security at a time of terrorism and new weapons and the need for revisions in how the Security Council operates. Secondly: a commitment to combating the appalling level of poverty around the world - with economic progress and social justice for all, embodied in the Millennium Development Goals. Thirdly: a focus on human rights and democracy as universal concepts with local political and cultural application. A UN confident of its role and responsibility to intervene when sovereign states slaughter their own people. In doing so, you focused the world's attention on the balance between the role of nations and individuals, and between the global and the national. "Kofi, you may recall when we met in New York, last November, we reflected on the consequences for African growth and African countries of the slavery of the past - which remains a matter of sorrow and deep regret for us all. A crime that shames us all. I met a group of children in Ghana who said, in a dramatic re-enactment of the slave chain, and I quote - “Not every black man was innocent. Not every white man was guilty.” An accurate and powerful statement on that evil trade from the mouths of schoolchildren. "We looked forward to this year's commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. But we also spoke of the suffering which remains today, in the form of modern day slavery - human trafficking, child conscription, bonded labour and other appalling acts of inhumanity in our world today. "In this historic anniversary year, we are delighted that you have accepted our invitation to speak on this special occasion, in which we commemorate William Wilberforce MP, the former slave Equiano, and the thousands of other people who campaigned for an end to the evil slave trade. "Kofi - both Houses of Parliament look forward to hearing your reflections, and we express our appreciation for your efforts to secure a safer and more sustainable world, in which the inhumanity of modern day slavery can finally be purged from the world."

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