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I.P.O. Information Service |
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Vienna, 12 October 2001/P/RE/17319c-is In a statement issued today, the President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Koechler, welcomed the decision of the Nobel Committee in Oslo to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Koechler emphasized that the decision of the Nobel Committee highlights the importance of the United Nations for the preservation and restoration of international peace and security -- particularly at a time when the unilateral use of force is being propagated by powerful international actors. In his capacity as University Professor of Philosophy, the President of the International Progress Organization had submitted, in February 1998, Mr. Annan's nomination to the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament. (According to the Statute of the Nobel Foundation, professors of philosophy ex officio have the right of nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.) In his nomination letter, the President of the I.P.O. had emphasized, among other aspects of Mr. Annan's dipolmatic efforts, the courageous action of the UN Secretary-General to avert a military confrontation between Iraq and the United States during the crisis in 1998. Following the official presentation of the nomination letter, the I.P.O. launched an international campaign among members of national legislatures for the support of Mr. Annan's nomination. END/Kofi Annan -- Nobel Peace Prize 2001/2001-10-12/17319c-is
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