SG/T/2259
AFR/289

ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ETHIOPIA 5–8 DECEMBER

The Secretary-General arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, late on Tuesday evening, 5 December. He was met at the airport by Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin.

On Wednesday, his day began with a briefing by Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, his Special Representative for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

At 9:30 a.m., he met with Foreign Minister Mesfin, after which they spoke to the press. The Foreign Minister said that their talks had been fruitful, and that they had gone over the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict, drought in the Horn of Africa, and other subregional issues.

Regarding the final agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea to be signed in Algiers on 12 December, the Secretary-General said that he hoped “to be able to join him (the Foreign Minister) and other leaders in signing that agreement”. The Secretary-General added, “We at the United Nations and the international community are determined to work with the two countries to ensure that peace will be durable and long lasting.” He went on to say, “We started deploying our peacekeepers, and we will work with the parties to do the border demarcation. We do not intend to linger, and as soon as our work is done, we will withdraw.”

The Secretary-General was particularly pleased “that we are about to put the conflict behind us”. Like the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict, other conflicts in Africa should end to enable us “to focus on the essential issue of economic and social development”. And he added, “we must do it out of concern and loyalty to our people.”

Later in the morning, the Secretary-General met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Both leaders also had a press encounter following their meeting. The Secretary-General said he was “very encouraged” by this visit. “As far as I’m concerned”, he stated, “the war is over.” The Secretary-General noted that after the signing of the agreement, due on 12 December, the focus would have to be “on the question of reconstruction and economic and social development”. He expressed the hope that for that phase, “those with the capacity to give, will give and give generously.” The end of the conflict is “a positive story, a great story for Africa”.

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Prime Minister Zenawi said he agreed with the Secretary-General on all issues raised during their meeting. He thanked “the Secretary-General and his staff for their support, not only in terms of the peace process, but also in terms of preventing famine in Ethiopia”. Referring to the peace process, the Prime Minister said he was “optimistic and confident that this is the final stage of the whole process”.

Following that meeting, the Secretary-General visited the Addis Ababa premises of UNMEE. After meeting the staff, he attended a military briefing by the Chief Military Observer, Col. Jukka Pollanen.

In the mid-afternoon, the Secretary-General had a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim A. Salim. They discussed the end of the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict, which they considered a fine example of cooperation between the OAU, the United Nations and other partners. They also reviewed the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, West Africa in general, Somalia and Côte d’Ivoire.

Early on Wednesday evening, the Secretary-General held three bilateral meetings: with Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Festus Mogae of Botswana, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

After those meetings, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended a portion of the concert "Artists against AIDS", which brought together a number of famous African artists like Femi Kuti, Ismael Lo, Hugh Masakela and Sally Nyolo.

On Thursday morning, 7 December, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan attended the heads of State Forum of the African Development Forum on HIV/AIDS. The Secretary-General opened the Forum, saying that he had come "to deliver a message of hope". He added that "we face a terrible epidemic, but we are far from powerless against it. We can halt the spread of AIDS. We can even reverse it."

He described the challenge of AIDS as "a test of leadership", listing the many areas in which leadership had a positive impact on the fight against AIDS. He called on political leaders to "allocate more resources for treatment and prevention and to show that this battle is their top priority."

The Secretary-General stated that the United Nations "must make the struggle for AIDS a true priority in our work throughout Africa, on an equal footing with our work for peace and security".

He made an appeal for more awareness raising. He concluded: "We want to hear the big noise of awareness campaigns everywhere, in every country, in every continent, at every level. We want to make every man, woman and child understand what Africans have understood that facing up to AIDS is a point of honour, not a source of shame" (see SG/SM/7655).

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While still at the African Development Forum conference site, the Secretary-General had bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Senegal, Moustapha Niasse, and the Prime Minister of Chad, Nagoum Yamassoum.

After that, he attended a lunch hosted by the President of Ethiopia, Negasso Gidada.

Upon returning from lunch, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan met at the hotel with five youngsters who are participating in the debate of the Africa Development Forum. They are either representatives of youth groups or represent people living with HIV/AIDS, themselves carrying the virus.

In the afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Annan visited the Ethiopian Gemini Trust, a project supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) with wheat, vegetable oil and famix (a locally produced micronutrient fortified blended food supplement). They were accompanied by Catherine Bertini, WFP's Executive Director, who had joined the Secretary-General's delegation in Addis Ababa in her capacity as his Special Envoy for the drought in the Horn of Africa.

With humble beginnings which grew out of the plight of twins Tewodros and Yordanos, Gemini Trust, an Ethiopian non-governmental organization (NGO), has now expanded to not only support twins born to needy families in Addis Ababa but also as an organization that highlights issues of urban poverty. Gemini Trust currently supports over 1,100 destitute families, each with twins or triplets, totalling over 7,500 people. There are more than 100 families on the waiting list.

The Secretary-General visited different stations of the project: weighing of food, feeding of children, vocational training for mothers, children's playgrounds, and a shop with products produced by the mothers. Upon leaving, after taking photos with the children, the Secretary-General said that Gemini Trust was doing "something that should be an inspiration for civil societies around the world". He expressed the hope it would be "replicated around Africa".

Following that visit, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan went to the Organization for Social Services for AIDS (OSSA), an Ethiopian humanitarian NGO, founded in late 1989 by Christian religious denominations and the Islamic Supreme Council. It is the first organization established to work on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health throughout the country, with 14 branch offices in major Ethiopian sites. The Organization for Social Services for AIDS provides care and support for 1,400 destitute people living with HIV/AIDS and 12,000 needy orphans. It has also helped establish associations of people living with HIV/AIDS.

After listening to a briefing on the project, the Secretary-General watched a dance presentation, as well as a theatre skit and puppets with AIDS awareness messages. He said to the project participants that it was "quite

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moving to come here". He also told them that they were "making a difference here by helping care for those with AIDS, talking about safe sex and getting people to use condoms".

That evening, before attending a dinner hosted by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, K.Y. Amoako, the Secretary-General attended a reception hosted by Catherine Bertini for NGO donor representatives and United Nations agencies that have been active in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

At a news conference before his departure to Eritrea on Friday, 8 December, the Secretary-General appealed to both Ethiopia and Eritrea not to rearm now that their dispute has ended, and also appealed to international donors to help the two countries' reconstruction efforts.

The Secretary-General and his party then departed to Asmara, where they arrived before noon on Friday.

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