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PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications, Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
Tel 609/258-3601; Fax 609/258-1301FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patricia Coen 609/258-5764
Date: November 3, 1997
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Speak at Princeton University
Princeton, N.J. -- Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, will speak on "Tomorrow's United Nations" at Princeton University on Monday, November 24, at 8 p.m. in 50 McCosh Hall. Annan's visit has been organized by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs as well as the University's Center of International Studies and its Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
Annan, who took office in 1997, is the UN's seventh secretary-general, a post described by the UN charter as the "chief administrative officer" of the organization, who acts as both a diplomat and an activist. The charter empowers Annan to bring to the attention of the UN's Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, threatens international peace and security. It also calls upon him to perform "such other functions" as are entrusted to him by the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the other main UN organs.
The secretary-general is best-known to the general public for working in the interest of "preventive diplomacy," which refers to steps taken by the secretary-general or senior staff, in public and private, to prevent international disputes from arising, escalating, or spreading.
Annan, a national of Ghana who is fluent in English, French, and several African languages, was the UN's under secretary-general for peacekeeping operations at the time of his appointment as secretary-general. His career in the United Nations spans more than three decades and has included focus on refugee issues and peacekeeping as well as administration, budget, finance, and personnel. He has carried out a number of sensitive diplomatic assignments, including negotiating the repatriation of more than 900 international staff and the release of Western hostages in Iraq following that country's invasion of Kuwait in 1990; initiating the discussions on the "oil-for-food" formula to ease the humanitarian crisis in Iraq; and overseeing the transition from the United Nations Protection Force in former Yugoslavia to the multinational Implementation Force led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) following the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.
In an address to the General Assembly following his appointment, Annan observed "a new understanding of peace and security must emerge . . . intolerance, injustice, and oppression -- and their consequences -- respect no national frontiers."
Note: Media wishing to cover the event should contact Patricia Coen at 609-258-5764 by 5 p.m. on Friday, November 21, to reserve a seat.
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