2007-9-14

At local time 11 a.m. Oct. 12 (Beijing Time 17 p.m. Oct. 12), Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced, UN and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan won Nobel Peace Prize 2001, commending their efforts in establishing "a more peaceful and order world" in the last century.

The Director of Nobel Peace Prize Committee stated, "UN has been working in the front line of seeking world peace and security". Founded in 1945, UN now has employees of 50,000 all over the world.

He said, "UN has accumulated much experience of success while encountered frustrations in the past."

Annan said it was "good news", and the recognition of his job to UN. He added,"we feel excited and encouraging, and think it's the acknowledgement of the work UN and his staffs have done."

But speaking of 9/11 terrorism attack, he noted,"in the face of tough times like this, we feel more responsibilities on our shoulder. However, we become more confident in pursuing peace."

The prize this time was summed to SEK10 million, that is US$946,200.

The Director noted, 63-year-old Annan had"committed himself to recruiting new members to UN", and "faced too many challenges in combating international terrorism and Aids."

Although the outlook of peace in Afghanistan turned indistinct due to America and Britain's air raid on Afghanistan, the evaluation committee still granted the prize as scheduled.

Annan and UN won the prize after defeating 136 nominated candidates, including strong competitors like International Red Cross, etc. The director claimed the prize aimed at supporting UN¡¯s key role in resolving international conflicts. But he refused to comment on if he dropped a hint to Washington. Annan said the terrorism attack US suffered "injured the whole world's emotions." He also showed his concerns for US government's claim this week that they would reserve their right to decide if they were going to augment the military attack on Afghanistan and other nations.

The 189-member UN stated that he would "commit to creating a better world for all mankind, improving human rights, protecting environment, disease control, promoting development and diminishing poverty."

Some agencies affiliated to UN ever won Nobel Peace Prize in succession, but for UN it's the first time. The sole former laureate of UN secretary general was Hammarskjold from Sweden who won the prize in 1961.