Remarks by Mr. Yacoub El Hillo, UN Resident Coordinator, at the launch of the Kofi Annan Living Memorial (KALM)

Monrovia, Liberia:



Hon. Gray, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and all Government officials present

Dr. Ophelia Inez Weeks, President of the University of Liberia and all Representatives from Academia present

Hon. Olubanke King-Akerele, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs/Chair of the Angie Brooks International Center and all Representatives of Civil Society present

Your excellences the Ambassadors of Ghana, the African Union, ECOWAS and Sweden

My colleagues Heads of UN Agency and other members of the UN family in Liberia

Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen

A warm welcome to all of you to the One United Nations House.

Back in August 2018, a large delegation of Liberian youth visited the One UN House soon after the news of Kofi Annan’s passing came out. The youth delivered a letter of condolences to Mr. Annan’s larger family, the United Nations. They were eager to know how the work of Kofi Annan -over four decades in the service of peace- could be preserved. I was inspired, much as all of us were grieving and mourning for the loss of this moral compass and global force of good.

In my attempt to respond I mentioned that Kofi Annan was instrumental in bringing Liberia back from the abyss when, in 2003, he as the United Nations Secretary-General worked tirelessly with the Security Council, ECOWAS and the rest of the international community to deploy the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). That was the beginning of stopping the war and helping Liberia begin the process of rebuilding. I suggested that the best way Liberian youth can preserve the legacy of this proud son of Africa and true global citizen is to ensure that the culture of peace takes deeper roots in Liberia and that the youth should learn how Kofi Annan always used the force of logic to resolve disputes and to prevent conflict. He did not use the logic of force.

It is therefore a true honor for me to be a part of this very important event, the launch of an inaugural pilot specialized academic program to roll out the Kofi Annan Living Memorial (KALM) in Liberia. This is an initiative to immortalize the name of the late United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. A leader who put the people at the center of the work of the United Nations and was able to turn compassion into actions across the UN system. The KALM will help us deliver on what Liberian youth were asking last August - nurture Liberian youth to become Kofi Annans as the world we live in today needs more and more of this force of good.

I wish to take this moment to extend my sincere appreciation to the Government of Liberia for accepting to be a part of this initiative in memory of Kofi Annan when H.E. President George Weah launched the KALM concept on United Nations Day 24 October, 2018.

I think it is apt for me to recognize the tireless efforts made by my big sister, former senior UN colleague and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia Mrs. Olubanke King-Akerele, the Chair of the Board of the Angie Brooks International Centre for Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security (ABIC). Olubanke is the main brain in driving this initiative in Liberia and the other countries on the African continent. Her tireless efforts and commitment have brought us this far.

I also wish to extend my appreciation to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Liberia for facilitating the launch of this KALM pilot programme. I encourage my colleagues the Heads of UN Agency to support this important initiative especially on the promotion of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Permit me also to extend special thanks to the leadership of the University of Liberia in particular, the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict transformation and other participating academic institutions including the Demonstration School of Stella Maris Polytechnic and the Cuttington University for accepting to pilot the three specialised courses (Kofi Annan Young Diplomats for Conflict Prevention and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's)-(3 months Certificate Course); Kofi Annan Clubs for Conflict Prevention and Realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in schools; and, the Kofi Annan Youth Leadership Training in Conflict Prevention and the SDG's (6 weeks courses)

The specialized courses on peace, conflict prevention, human rights and SDGs are indeed important achievements by the academia in using their platform to bridge knowledge and skills gaps. I am persuaded beyond any doubt that the students will acquire relevant knowledge and skills to analyze and find practicable solutions to contemporary development challenges which are a threat to peace and human rights in Liberia. Undeniably, this pilot programme will contribute significantly in raising a generation of young leaders and change agents who are not only aware of their human rights but nurtured and equipped with requisite knowledge and skills to prevent conflict, promote peace and advance respect for human rights and the Rule of Law.

The outcomes from this initiative will hopefully also enable the Government of Liberia to report on steps taken in the implementation of the World Programme for Human Rights Education which calls upon UN member states to integrate human rights in education system and training of professionals at all levels.

In concluding distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I want to say this: without Kofi Annan we are no doubt poorer as a people and a global human community. But it is through initiatives like the KALM that this powerful legacy will be preserved so that it continues to guide and inspire us as we all strive for a peaceful world.

We are honored that this launch is taking place in the main Conference Room at the One United Nations House. I will therefore be proposing to my colleagues Heads of UN Agency in Liberia that we name this room “The Kofi Annan Conference Room”. Everything we discuss here, every day, is about how Kofi Annan wanted things to be – Peace and Security based; Human Rights centric; Development centered; and the supremacy of the Rule of Law.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, said it best: “Kofi Annan was the United Nations. The United Nations was Kofi Annan”.

Thank you.