FELIX HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY PEACE
PRIZE AWARDED TO COMMUNITY OF SANT'EGIDIO
Paris, February 1 (No.2001-16)-
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today awarded the 1999 Félix
Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize to the Community of Sant’Egidio represented by
its Founder and President Andrea Riccardi.
The ceremony at Organization
Headquarters was attended by, notably, Abdou Diouf, the former President of
Senegal; Henri Konan Bédié, former President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire;
former European Commission President Jacques Delors; Abou Drahamane Sangaré,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire; Louis Michel, Vice-Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium; Mozambique Minister of
Higher Education, Science and Technology Lidia Brito; Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
Secretary General of Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and
former Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Sonia Mendieta de Badaroux,
Chairperson of UNESCO’s Executive Board.
During the ceremony, Mr
Matsuura described the Prize as “a major instrument for the promotion of peace
in the world” and said that “the name of Félix Houphouët-Boigny which is
associated to it symbolises the quest for human peace and brotherhood.” Mr
Matsuura went on to pay tribute to the memory of Félix Houphouët-Boigny and to
his commitment to peace, recalling the strong impression made on him by the late
Ivorian President when he was a young diplomat in West Africa in the 1960s.
Mr Matsuura went on to praise
the Community of Sant’Egidio’s humility, determination to listen to others
and perseverance in its work for the very poor and in favour of inter-faith
relations. “The Community has moved on to work for peace through dialogue, in
various conflicts in which it has been made to act as mediator,” the
Director-General said, adding that “the results it has obtained in this area
are the finest reward it could wish for and prove the efficiency of its methods.”
Mr Matsuura went on to recall “the essential role played by the Community in
bringing peace to Mozambique, its considerable contribution to the peace process
in Guatemala and its many endeavours in Europe, Africa and Latin America.”
Boutros Boutros-Ghali praised
“the Community of Sant’Egidio’s genius in establishing dialogue and
mediation.” Jacques Delors then said that “Professor Riccardi made himself
available to everyone” and underlined the community’s work for the poor. He
stressed mainly the way it had “extended charity to politics”, an example
for governmental and non-governmental organizations alike.
Welcoming the fact that such an
important prize is named after an African, Abou Drahamane Sangaré said that
Côte d’Ivoire is proud and honoured to take part in the Félix
Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize-giving ceremony. Louis Michel recalled the role of
the Community in “inter-faith dialogue and [dialogue] between believers and
non-believers.” Henri Konan Bédié warmly welcomed the fact that the Prize
was awarded to the Community of Sant’Egidio which “in a troubled world,
toils to bring compassion, comfort and hope to victims” and “deserves the
respect of all who struggle for a better world.” He expressed the hope that
“the spirit of Félix Houphouët-Boigny inspire the people of Côte d’Ivoire
in its desire for peace, love and fraternity” and declared: “Only dialogue,
love, mutual understanding and tolerance, the essential fundaments of Félix
Houphouët-Boigny’s philosophy, will allow us to pursue and reinforce the work
he has accomplished.”
An international jury presided
by former US Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Henry Kissinger
chose the Community of Sant’Egidio in recognition of its contribution to the
resolution of conflicts in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa and
Latin America.
Representing Mr Kissinger, who
was unable to attend, Jean Foyer, the Vice-President of the Jury, summed up the
history of the Community “born in the aftermath of the Vatican II Council”
which today numbers “20,000 members around the world.” He explained that it
was not a religious congregation. He said the Sant’Egidio Community “is
motivated by love, love for the poor, for progress, for their neighbour and is
regenerating the process of mediation.” He concluded by saying that the Jury
sought, above all, “to make the Community better known, rather than recompense
it”. He said the Community aspired to “a higher recompense” and quoted the
Sermon on the Mount: “Happy be the peacemakers, for they will be named the
children of God.”
Upon receiving the Prize,
Andrea Riccardi spoke of the community’s work over more than 30 years to fight
against poverty in the North and in the South: “Sant’Egidio is a movement of
women and men, present in nearly 60 countries including more than 20 African
countries, who, moved by faith, lead lives of solidarity with the poorest and
those injured by life.” Mr Riccardi declared that “among the numerous
[forms] of poverty we face, the mother of all poverty is war.”
“In today’s world, […]
new frontiers are appearing: not only national but ethnic and religious [ones].
Frequently political groups unscrupulously use religious or ethnic motives to
inflame aggression, especially after the collapse of many ideologies. […] The
suspicion, scorn and prejudice which seem to be an inevitable heritage of the
past, become, on the ground, threatening passions.”
The Prize, consisting of a
cheque for FrF800,000 and a peace diploma, as well as a gold medal, was created
in 1989 by UNESCO’s General Conference at the initiative of 120 States. It is
awarded annually to people, institutions or organisations which have contributed
significantly to the promotion, research, safeguarding or maintaining of peace,
mindful of the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of UNESCO.
Among other laureates are:
Nelson Mandela and Frederik W. De Klerk (1991); Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and
Yasser Arafat (1993); King Juan Carlos of Spain and former US President Jimmy
Carter (1994).
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