Annan calls on international civil society to help build a renewed UN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on international civil society, in its all its varied forms, to help achieve goals in peacemaking, development, human rights and renewal of the United Nations agreed to by world leaders at the 2005 Summit in New York.

“Our success in advancing this agenda of renewal will depend not only on Government representatives and international officials,” Mr. Annan said in a message for the UN Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, one of many such national non-governmental organizations that support the aims of the UN.

“It will rest on voters, consumers, civil society groups and concerned men and women of all ages, in rich and poor countries alike, thinking and acting as global citizens -- understanding the need for all peoples to seize common opportunities and defend against shared threats,” he said.

Mr. Annan sent off his remarks before leaving for St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, where he will serve as the inaugural speaker for the newly created Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College, where the Secretary-General earned his bachelor’s degree.