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11.

The United Nations in a Changing World –
Pax Miltilateralis

STATEMENT
BY MR. V. PETROVSKY
UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL
DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT GENEVA
AT THE ANNUAL DINNER OF FORUM INTERNATIONAL GENEVE

Palais des Nations, 25 November 1993

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Two years ago, when I joined the United Nations as Under-Secretary-

General for Political Affairs, I felt sure that I was going to a place that I
already knew well. For many years I had been working for the Soviet
diplomatic service, dealing in particular with international organizations. In
addition, as a junior diplomat, I had direct experience of the UN Secretariat
when I worked as a Political Affairs Officer.

But what I found instead was not only a completely new political landscape
but a revitalized, action-oriented, global organization, experiencing its second
wind in this new, post-Cold War era.

In view of my own experience, it is hardly surprising that misperceptions
about the UN are rather common among not only the mass media and public-
at-large but also professionals. Indeed, even people inside the UN are still in
the process of assimilating the changes that have occurred.

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