A ‘beacon’ of tolerance” “

Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, urges that the frontiers between States be removed, that the doors be opened to immigrants, and that Europe courageously pursue its path towards the unity of the continent and make room for those coming from poor countries in search of work and peace. During a solemn session of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday 29 January, the Sakharov Prize for 2003 was awarded “to the UN Secretary General and to all the personnel of the United Nations and in particular to the memory of Sergio Vieira de Mello and the many other UN staff who have lost their life in the exercise of their service for peace in the world”. To commemorate the “martyrs of peace”. Viera de Mello was killed on 19 August 2003 in the suicide bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, in which 22 people lost their lives, 18 of them international personnel. The European Parliament has continued its tradition of awarding the prize, established in 1988 and named after the famous Soviet dissident, to distinguished public servants. The Sakharov Prize “represents a recognition for an exceptional action or endeavour in the defence of human rights and fundamental liberties, international law, and the development of democracies”. Past recipients include Nelson Mandela, Alexandre Dubcek, the paper “Oslobodjenje” and Ibrahim Rugova. Annan, paying a three-day visit to the Belgian capital, had talks with the president of the EP, Pat Cox, with the president of the Commission Romano Prodi and with the current president of the Council for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen. In its sixth plenary session, the EP adopted a report urging the Union to reinforce its cooperation with the UNO and reaffirming that “multilateralism is the most effective means of building peace”. The Parliament asks that the UN Security Council be enlarged, with permanent seats reserved for Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. “The EU, a beacon of tolerance and safeguard of rights”. Present in the debating chamber of the EP were the wife and son of Vieira de Mello, some other UN personnel also injured in Iraq and the families of other victims. The solemn session was opened by a speech from Pat Cox, who emphasized the essential role of the United Nations in so many regions of the planet scarred by wars, famine and disease. “Today you have expressed your commitment by adopting a resolution aimed at reinforcing the EU’s political and financial support for the UNO”, said Kofi Annan, on receiving the Prize. In his speech he also underlined the close relationship between the EU and the UNO. The Union is in fact the major contributor to the United Nations, and many top administrators in UN headquarters in New York have a background of diplomatic service in the old continent. “The European Union is a beacon of tolerance, of human rights and of international cooperation – declared the Secretary General -. After 1st May, this light will shine out even more brightly. When you comprise 25 members, you will have demolished a line of division between East and West that seemed insurmountable. Enlargement is the primary factor of peace in the European continent”. And he went on: “The hope of other enlargements in the course of the next few years brings with it the promise of new bridges at the service of understanding also between the West and Islam”. “Immigrants are a resource for Europe”. In his speech, Kofi Annan insisted on the rights of immigrants and the need for the rich countries to open their frontiers to those people who are abandoning their country “for the same reasons that forced tens of millions of Europeans to leave the continent in the past. They are fleeing from war or oppression… Those who leave do not do so out of their own free choice, but because they have no future at home”. Immigrants, declared Annan, to the applause of the majority of MEPs, “are not terrorists or criminals. They bring with them their culture and traditions, enriching the countries in which they arrive. Of course, the problems of integration should not be underestimated and that of clandestine immigration, in particular, needs to be tackled. But the majority of migrants consist of workers, they are courageous and determined people. They have a need for Europe, but Europe also has a need for them. A self-enclosed Union would become meaner, poorer and older. An open Europe, by contrast, would be fairer, richer and younger”. Annan went on to underline the need to step up international cooperation for the development of the poor nations, in such a way as to remove at their source the reasons for migrations.