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learn so much about the diffe- Health Initiative. The latter is
rent ways that societies are together with our partners,
organized, different ways of Brasil, France, Indonesia,
thinking, also different reli- Senegal, South Africa and
gions. I think that if you are Thailand.
interested in people -- which I
am --then what you gain from Together with the ambassador
conversations and listening of Mexico, Juan José Camacho,
puts you in a better position to we are co-sharing the negotia-
try to forge compromises. tions to improve the global sys-
Also, let me add the high tem for pandemic influenza
respect that I have for the preparedness based on access
work of dedicated NGOs and to virus and benefit sharing.
for their commitment to pro- The last panedemic clearly
moting human rights. Their demonstrated that we must
role in the work of the Council improve the present system. king as a team. I believe that tional relations. Do you
is an important one. We need to increase production we are organized in an effi- share this point of view?
cient manner and one that pro-
capacity, improve access to
Traditionally, it is the United
Q: Norway enjoys a good vaccines and anti-viral treat- motes a good working envir- Nations in New York that is
noment were people feel
reputation on the Human ment and improve laboratory on the mind of Norwegians
Rights Council. It is capacity necessary to detect a appreciated and free to come
known as a neutral coun- pandemic outbreak. This is up with new ideas. We have a when the UN is on the agenda.
very flat structure and work in That is only natural given that
try and a bridge-builder about human security; it is in
between thematic teams that partly both the General Assembly
different
the interest of all of us to be
and the Security Council are
overlap. I'm very proud of my
regions. Is that one of able to limit the consequences
colleagues at the mission and located there. However, I am
your objectives? of a pandemic. lam very happy
it is always difficult when pleased to note that Geneva is
to be doing this together with
Yes, we try to be a bridge- my Mexican colleague. We are some of them leave because becoming more recognized
builder, but we are not at all working hard to be able to fina- we work so closely together. and that is positive in light of
neutral when it comes to lize an outcome in spring so the important international
human rights. We have a very that it can be adopted by the We delevop our priorities and work going on here. At the
clear policy agenda and com- WHA next year. how to implement them tog- mission this is refected in the
mitment to promoting human ther, and of course fully increasing number of visits to
reflecting the policy objecti- Geneva, also for study purpo-
rights. However, we do not We know through history how
achieve results by way of for- leathal pandemic influenza can ves of the government. We ses. This year 12 ministers and
cing our opinion on others; we be. We must make sure that all focus on policy areas were deputy ministers came to
try to listen and to explore the countries have a reasonable and Norway is an important Geneva from Norway as well
possibilities to reach agree- rapid access to vaccines and donor, such as the humanita- as delegations from our
ment. anti-viral treatments. This is a rian and health fields. We try Storting (Parliament) and
to use our efforts were there from civil society. Such visits
complicated process, where we
Q: You mentioned pro- do a lot of outreach also to are chances of getting results. are important; they help
moting gender issues in pharmaceutical industry in both Staff cuts make this increasin- increase the knowledge and
the different international developed and developing gly important. There are other understanding of the impor-
organizations here in countries. Industry has to be important areas of work that I tant work going on here.
Geneva. How exactly do part of the solution.Transfer of have not touched on, such as
Ms
you do that? technology and intellectual pro- disarmament, ILO and WIPO. Finally,
Humanitarian disarmament Ambassador, do you
perty rights are also important
We approach the gender issue issues to be dealt with. This is a such as the Mine Ban have a message for the
the
and
international communi-
in a cross-cutting manner. complex negotiation and we Convention
That implies that it is an inte- are committed to conducting it Convention on Cluster ty?
grated part of our approach to in a fully transparant manner - Munitions are at the core of
for example humanitarian and that is imperative if we are to our work. It is about reducing Let us work together to reach
protection matters, health, succeed. the immense suffering caused positive results for people all
ILO, economic issues and of by these weapons on innocent over the world.
civilians. Armed violence is
course human rights. The Q: With all the different
government is strongly enga- things going on in another such key area.
ged in promoting Millennium Geneva, how do you
Development Goals 4 and 5 manage your time? Q: The Minister of
(child and maternal mortali- Foreign Affairs said on
Norwegian media some
ty). Promoting global health Let me say that the team here at
issues is a core priority and we the Norwegian mission is won- time ago that Geneva
are heavily engaged in derful -- very dedicated and was not recognized by
Geneva, also within the very talented and we are wor- the Norwegians as an
Foreign Policy and Global important city for interna-
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