STATEMENT BY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG ON SIXTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF ASSOCIATION OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS

Following is the statement by Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, which he delivered at a lunch at the International Labour Organization today on the occasion of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Association of Former International Civil Servants (AFICS) :

"It is a pleasure to be with you today to commemorate the sixty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Association of Former International Civil Servants (AFICS). I would like to take this opportunity to pay homage to AFICS for their venerable work in encouraging solidarity among past officials of the United Nations family and promoting the interests of former staff members. As representatives of the international civil service, your contribution enabled the functioning of the complex machinery of the United Nations in the interests of the people it exists to serve. Your engagement continues to be of utmost importance for achieving our objectives.

As you know, 2005 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter by which the founding fathers pledged to establish conditions of peace, social progress, respect for law, human rights and better standards of life in larger freedom. Today, in face of new threats and challenges, the peoples of the world continue to look to the United Nations family to address these challenges and we have a duty to respond. Therefore, we remember the accomplishments of the United Nations over six decades – and there have been many – but we also look to the future so as to determine how we can advance even further in the service of the peoples of the world.

The World Summit in New York provided a historic opportunity for Member States to assess the progress made in implementing the commitments of the United Nations Millennium Declaration and address ways of making the United Nations yet more responsive to current global needs. They made progress in the areas of fighting poverty, disease, peacebuilding, human rights, pledging collective action for preventing genocide and fighting terrorism. They also agreed on important reforms for the United Nations. Now we stand accountable and our success depends on the will of governments and the engagement of groups and individuals such as you.

For this reason, you not only represent the history and institutional memory of this Organization but also contribute to the success of its future. If the United Nations has played a role in lowering poverty rates, increasing life expectancy, contributing to peace or reducing the number of conflicts over the course of its lifetime, it has been possible because of your hard work and unwavering dedication. Just as the legacy of the founding fathers of the United Nations serves and inspires us today, so does yours, and will no doubt continue to do so for future generations of civil servants to come.

Thank you very much for your contribution and hard work at the Organization".

For use of the information media; not an official record

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