‘Indispensable’ civil society can help build trust on Korean peninsula – Annan

Praising the crucial role civil society groups play in international affairs, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Korean and international civic actors meeting in New York to help build the trust, confidence and goodwill necessary to ensure a peninsula free of nuclear weapons and to bring an end to the Korean conflict.

“Your voices can help…the role of civil society at this critical stage of international diplomacy is indispensable,” Mr. Annan said in a message to the 2005 World Korean Forum, delivered Saturday by Aleksandr Ilitchev, Senior Officer, in the UN Department of Political Affairs.

“We must all do our utmost to overcome the remaining hurdles in the six-party talks,” he said of the recently suspended fourth round of negotiations on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear weapons programme. Those talks, which include Russia, China, Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea, are set to resume in late August or early September.

“We must also do our part to generate positive momentum through the inter-Korean dialogue and through development and international cooperation,” he said, welcoming the goal of the Forum, which brought together civil society groups from different parts of the world to express their support for international efforts to achieve a secure, prosperous, democratic and reunified Korean Peninsula.

He also welcomed the Forum’s interest in the UN, especially at a time when the Organization – in its 60th anniversary year – was working hard to adapt to the challenges of the day, and to become more effective in realizing the aspirations of Member States and the world's people, as enshrined in its Charter.

Saying that the UN was committed to doing everything possible to support and promote encouraging trends in the Peninsula, and to strengthen overall security in Northeast Asia, Mr. Annan urged the Forum’s participants to be bold and constructive in their deliberations. “With creativity, vision and courage, we can achieve durable peace and a bright future for the Korean Peninsula,” he added.