SG/T/2258
AFR/288

ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BENIN 3-5 DECEMBER

The Secretary-General arrived in Cotonou in the evening of Sunday, 3 December. He was greeted at the airport by the Foreign Minister of Benin, Antoine Kolawolé Idji.

On Monday morning, he launched the Fourth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, praising Benin in his opening address as a “shining example” of democracy in Africa, having transferred power “smoothly, through the ballot box, from the previous Government to the present one”.

“Democracy and the rule of law are inseparably connected”, the Secretary- General told representatives of more than 90 countries gathered at a Cotonou sports centre for the three-day meeting. “Without respect of the law, it is not possible to hold free elections”, Mr. Annan said, adding that “a strong, independent judiciary is, therefore, essential”.

After noting that, in Africa, “communities from the village upwards have traditionally decided their course through free discussion, carefully weighing different points of view until consensus is reached”, the Secretary-General said that “Africans have much to learn from their own traditions, and something to teach others, about the true meaning and spirit of democracy”.

He also stated that “nothing is more important for democracy than free and vigorous mass media”. And he added: “The media in a democracy cannot be passive. They must actively seek out the truth on the public’s behalf, and be free to tell it as they see it.” He also noted that democracy will only work if all groups in a society feel that they are included, and their human rights are respected. “Democracy implies majority rule, but that does not mean that minorities can or should be excluded from having any share of power, or any say in decisions,” he said (see SG/SM/7653).

It was hoped that the conference, which was organized by the Government of Benin, with technical assistance provided by the United Nations Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme, would be a valuable learning experience for all participating countries. It was also expected that the conference would focus on the operational aspects of functioning democracies, which covered issues on how to hold free and fair elections, and the institution of other mechanisms to ensure good governance.

The Secretary-General met with United Nations staff in Benin later in the day.

- 2 - Press Release SG/T/2258 AFR/288 12 December 2000

On Monday evening, he attended a dinner hosted by President Mathieu Kérékou. The Secretary-General was decorated with the Ordre National du Bénin, at the rank of Grand Officier.

Early on Tuesday morning, the Secretary-General started the day by watching a presentation by street children and orphans who benefit from a project on the protection of children who are victims of abuse. Mrs. Annan had seen this presentation the previous day and was so moved by it that she wanted the Secretary-General to watch it himself.

The project is run by a Swiss non-governmental organization, Terre des Hommes. Since it was founded in 1990, it has helped 8,000 children. The presentation was about the rights of children, particularly the right to education, and focused on children from the rural areas of Benin who come to work in the capital city of Cotonou. The skit was conceptualized and produced by the children in this project and presented the situation of a young girl who came to work as a maid in a household with children her age. When the children of the household went to school, the girl asked the lady of the house if she could go to school as well. She was told that her place was in the kitchen. At the end the young girl is allowed to go to school, and the message is that all children have the right to education.

Following the presentation, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan went to Porto Novo, which is some 19 miles away from Cotonou. They were greeted by hundreds of people who were singing and dancing to greet him in a warm and colourful atmosphere.

They toured the old royal palace of the King of Porto Novo, which is now the Musée Honme de Porto Novo. (In the Goun language, “honme” means “royal palace”.) At the end of the tour, in the back court of the palace, they met with youngsters and elders of Benin. There was a presentation by some 12 children belonging to the Local Committees of Democratic Children. They sang songs, and performed a skit on peace, development in Africa, the fight against AIDS and defence of the environment. Dr. Iroko, a Benin historian, then spoke about the role of traditional authorities in modern democracies.

Following that, one of the 12 kings present at the ceremony spoke, on behalf of all the others, to welcome the Secretary-General. Mr. Annan then took the floor and, in an improvised speech, thanked the royalty for being present, the children and the Government for organizing the event. He then went through the main points of his speech of the previous day at the conference on new and restored democracies.

In answer to the children’s questions, he said that, as a child, he did all his homework and suggested to the children that it was very important to follow and to listen to their teachers and their parents. The Secretary-General also said that he was very happy to see children taking responsibility, and that children today knew things that he didn’t know at their age, which meant that there was hope for the future.

The Secretary-General’s party returned to Cotonou and departed for Ethiopia at midday.

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