PRESIDENT MILAN KUCAN AND KOFI ANAN ON THE FUTURE OF UN

Ljubljana, 11 September 2002


The President of the Republic, Mr Milan Kucan, who is scheduled to address the 57th General Assembly of the United Nations on behalf of Slovenia, attended a commemorative service today organised by the UN and the City of New York on the anniversary of the tragic events that shook the world on 11 September last year.

In the afternoon President Kucan met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, exchanging views on the role of the UN in ensuring peace and security in the current international situation. »The UN is undergoing a tough trial,« President Kucan stated, convinced that a global world also requires global governance and global responsibility. President Kucan positively assessed the shift made in this context by the United Nations with the Millennium Declaration, humanitarian interventions and the War Crimes Tribunal, all of which represent the first steps toward a new chapter in international law. In its efforts for peace and security the international community must strengthen the position of the UN and the dialogue within that organisation, the President said.

President Kucan informed his host in some detail about the objectives of the Global Ethical Collegium and of BledNet, reiterating BledNet's invitation for the Secretary General to attend their next meeting.

The talks with Mr Kofi Annan started off in a very relaxed atmosphere where President Kucan introduced to his host the Slovenian marathon swimmer who swam the length of the Mississippi in memory of the victims of 11 September. In his words of congratulations, Mr Annan expressed great admiration and enthusiasm for the feat.

In the afternoon President Kucan also met with Javier Solana at the EU mission in New York, exchanging views on the situation in Sout Eastern Europe and the EU's efforts for the fastest possible appeasement of the region. Mr Solana expressed optimism and satisfaction.