UN honors former Secretary General U Thant

by Mizzima News
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 16:45

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The United Nations on Tuesday premiered a photographic exhibition dedicated to the honor of the late UN Secretary General U Thant at the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut in the United States.

Kiyo Akasaka, the Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, during the opening ceremony said the exhibition was dedicated to U Thant, the third leader of the world body, whose vision of the UN was for it to meet the needs and hopes of people everywhere.

U Thant, a Burmese diplomat, served at the UN from 1961 to 1971 and played a crucial role in solving several world crises, successfully concluding the UN’s Congo operation, easing tensions during the Cuban missile crisis, helping to reach a peaceful end to the Vietnam War and advocating for the end of apartheid in South Africa.

“He created, or laid the foundations for, many of the institutions that we have today working to alleviate poverty, to protect the environment and to safeguard health,” Akasaka said during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, according to a UN press release.

Akasaka told the audience in Stamford that the most important impact of U Thant was “his belief in the dignity of the individual, and the need to place the well-being of the individual at the center of all of our efforts.”

“These words embody the spirit of the United Nations and continue to serve as our guiding light today,” he added.

This year also marks the centenary birth of U Thant, who died in 1974.