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Secretary-General Kofi Annan and
the UN win 2001 Nobel Peace Prize
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from UN News Centre
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan with his wife, Nane.
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Friday, 12 October
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was today awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along
with the United Nations, said the honour "challenges us to do more and to do better, not to rest on our laurels."
To a question on how he felt personally, Mr. Annan said he was "humbled, but also encouraged."
Asked how he had heard the news, Mr. Annan said his spokesman, Fred Eckhard, had woken him up
with a congratulatory phone call. "Of course it was a wonderful way to wake up, given the sort of
business we are in - usually when you get a call that early in the morning, it's something disastrous."
Speaking to a cheering crowd of UN workers as he entered the Organization's Headquarters this morning, the
Secretary-General asked his Deputy, Louise Fréchette, to read the Nobel Committee's citation, which states in part,
"Through this first peace prize to the UN as such, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes in its centenary year to
proclaim that the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations."
The Secretary-General said to the staff, "as we listen to the citation we also realize the challenges given to
us by the Nobel Committee, and I'm sure we will all rise up to the challenge."
Mr. Annan also paid tribute to the UN staff working to make the world a more just, more peaceful and
happier place. "The only true prize for them and for us will be peace itself," he added.
Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the award was an "explicit and
timely recognition" of Mr. Annan's leadership. "In the aftermath of the horrific attacks in the United States
and in light of the terrible humanitarian situation facing civilians in Afghanistan and in that region, this
recognition heartens all human rights defenders, in the United Nations and in civil society, and encourages
us to continue the struggle for human dignity and human security," she said.
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