UN Secretariat Item Scan - Barcode - Record Title Page 66 Date 5/10/2006 Time 11:59:44 AM S-0985-0007-04-00001 Expanded Number S-0985-0007-04-00001 Title |tems-in-Secretary-General's Statements Date Created 4/1/1977 Record Type Archival Item Container s-0985-0007: Secretary-General's Statements Print Name of Person Submit Image Signature of Person Submit TOAST BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OH THE OCC7iSION OF THE LUNCHEON GIVEN IN HONOUR OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, SENOR DON ADOLFQ SUAREZ GONZALEZ - 27 APRIL 1977 MR. PRESIDENT,. MR. FOREIGN MINISTER, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, GENTLEMEN. IT IS PARTICULARLY GRATIFYING FOR RE, MR. PRESIDENT, TO WELCOME YOU ON THIS, YOUR FIRST VISIT TO THE UNITED NATIONS. I KNOW THAT YOUR COUNTRY STANDS ONLY A FEW WEEKS AWAY FROM AN EVENT WHICH WILL MARK A DECISIVE TURNING-POINT IN ITS RECENT HISTORY - A PERIOD OF ITS HISTORY IN WHICH YOU PERSONALLY ARE DEEPLY INVOLVED. YOUR VISIT AT THIS TIME, LIKE THAT LAST YEAR OF HIS MAJESTY KING JUAN CARLOS SO EARLY IN HIS REIGN, IS A MOST IMPRESSIVE AFFIRMATION OF SPAIN'S INTEREST IN THE WORK OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS SUPPORT FOR THE IDEALS OF PEACE, JUSTICE, AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION EMBODIED IN OUR CHARTER. 2 - I SHOULD ALSO ADD TH7\T WE ALL REMEMBER, WITH GREAT PLEASURE, THE PRESENCE OF HIS MAJESTY, AND OF QUEEN SOFIA, WHEN I HAD THE HONOUR TO RECEIVE THEM LAST JUNE AT THE UNITED NATIONS. MR. PRESIDENT, WE IN THE UNITED NATIONS ARE DAILY CONSCIOUS OF THE WORLDWIDE INFLUENCE OF SPAIN, FOR SPANISH IS ONE OF OUR OFFICIAL LANGUAGES, WHILE THE PRONUNCIATION MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THAT OF YOUR NATIVE CASTILLA, IT NONETHELESS RECALLS THE ASTOUNDING SPREAD OF SPANISH CULTURE OVER THE CENTURIES„ SPAIN TODAY IS UNDERGOING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AND, AS IN THE PAST, WHAT HAPPENS IN SPAIN IS OF IMPORTANCE FAR BEYOND ITS BORDERS. SPAIN IS A PART OF EUROPE, NEIGHBOUR TO AFRICA, CROSSROADS TO THE MIDDLE EAST, HER ROLE IN THE UNITED NATIONS HAS BEEN A MOST CONSTRUCTIVE ONE AND IS STEADILY GROWING IN IMPORTANCE. IT IS A PLEASURE FOR HE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR THE EXCELLENT CO-OPERATION WHICH HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED WITH THE DELEGATIONS OF SPAIN, SO ABLY HEADED BY AMBASSADOR JAIME DE PINIES. YOUf MR. PRESIDENT, ARE AS CONSCIOUS AS I OF THE URGENCY AND COMPLEXITY OF THE PROBLEMS WHICH FACE OUR PRESENT WORLD. POVERTY AND STARVATION CONTINUE TO EXIST IN A GLOBAL ORDER WHICH IS HARKED BY INTOLERABLE INEQUITIES IN MATERIAL EXPECTATIONS. EXPENDITURES ON ARMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AND IMPERIL THE FUTURE OF MANKIND. IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THERE ARE STILL MANIFOLD OBSTACLES TO A GENUINE SETTLEMENT AND TOWARDS ACHIEVING A JUST AND LASTING PEACE. _ 4 _ IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, VESTIGES OF THE COLONIAL ERA AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION STILL PERSIST. IF WE DO NOT MAKE COMPREHENSIVE AND URGENT EFFORTS TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS THERE IS A VERY REAL AND IMMINENT DANGER THAT ARMED CONFRONTATION WILL ESCALATE TO CAUSE STILL GREATER BLOODSHED AND LOSS OF HUMAN LIFE. ALONGSIDE SUCH PROBLEMS THERE ARE, TODAY, ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITIES - TO BRING TIMELY ORDER TO THE SEA, TO PRESERVE AND RESTORE OUR ENVIRONMENT, TO DEVISE A RATIONAL MEANS OF MANAGING THE WORLD'S RESOURCES, TO MENTION ONLY A FEW. — 5 — THESE ARE CHALLENGES THAT DEMAND THE HIGHEST EFFORTS OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY AND THIS ORGANIZATION. IT IS A CAUSE FOR ENCOURAGEMENT THAT SPAIN, AS EVIDENCED BY YOUR VISIT TODAY, IS PARTICIPATING IN SUCH EFFORTS WITH RENEWED DEDICATION. SPAIN IS A COUNTRY OF YOUTH? OF EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS? AND OF INCREASING INFLUENCE. FOR THESE REASONS I AM PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY I HAVE HAD TO DISCUSS MANY QUESTIONS OF MUTUAL INTEREST WITH YOU TODAY AND TO DEEPEN THE USEFUL CONTACTS I HAVE HAD IN THE PAST WITH YOUR COUNTRY'S REPRESENTATIVES. I KNOW THAT IN OUR WORK WE CAN COUNT UPON YOUR COUNTRY'S POSITIVE COMMITMENT AND READY ASSISTANCE. - 6 - YOUR'EXCELLENCIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY I NOW ASK YOU TO JOIN ME IN A TOAST TO HIS MAJESTY KING JUAN CARLOS I OF SPAIN, « TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN SOFIA, AND TO OUR GUEST OF HONOUR, THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, HIS EXCELLENCY SENOR DON ADOLFO SUAREZ GONZALEZ. * * * STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE OCCASION OF THE KAYE AWARD CEREMONY -26 APRIL 3-977 It is a great pleasure for ma to once again greet Mr0 Danny Kaye and I a® very pleased also to welcome Ambassador Andrew Young, Mrs. Keienka Pantaieoni, and Mr0 Kaye's ehasrraing daughter, Bena«, Mr. Danny Kaye is an artist with a great variety of talents, in ail of which he has excelled and which transcend tha barriers of nationality and language0 His extraordinary attributes, combined with a particular affinity with, and dedication to, children, have been -put to remarkable use in his voluntary service for UNXCEF, which spans sliaost a quarter of a century* Mr« Kaye has worked tirelessly on behalf ©f W3XCEF, touring Asia* Europe and Africa, and making a large number of marathon jet journeys across the North American Continent in order to promote UNICEP's Halloween cantpaigns. Hs has justifiably been described by the Guinness Book ©f World Records as "The world' s fastest traxpelling entertainer" „ Mr. Kaye has also made various films on behalf of USHCSPs Thesa include "Assignment Children", "Secret Life" (with Ed Morrow of CBS), and "Pied piper", which have brought • the message of USJICSF to tens of millions of people in cineitsas and on television in many lands« Mr» Kaye, as UNICEF«s good-will ambassador, has been a highly effective advocate for children in the developing countrieso He has helped in large measure to make UHICEF part of the International Vocabulary and on© of the best known Agencies of the united Nationse It is therefore with particular satisfaction that I now give U2JICEF6s Award for Distinguished Service to Mr« J3anny Kaye. This is a highly appropriata token of recognition for this extraordinary hmuanitarian, whose concern for a better world has inspired adults and children the world over* MC/jm UNICEF UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND FONDS DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L'ENFANCE INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Hr*:-Rafeeuddin Ahmed, Executive PATE-. 22 April 1977 Assistant to the Secretary General (1~ FILE FROM: Jack C. S. Ling, Director Information Division, SUBJECT: Danny Kaye Award Ceremon^, Ap^il 26, Noon Besides Mr. Labouisse, Ambassador Andrew Young and Mrs. Helenka Pantaleoni, President of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF will be coming. Accompanying Mr. Kaye will be his daughter, Dena Kaye, a free-lance writer and a former assistant editor of Saturday Review, and his manager, Mr. Herbert Bonis. The enclosed article details Danny's work for UNICEF. Worth noting are his UNICJEE-^films, Assignment Children, Secret Life (with Ed Morrow of CBS), and P*ied Piper, which were seen by tens of millions of peop-le in theatres and on television; his maratho_rL_aej: •journeys, across the North American Continent .Qjro^ moting UNICEF's Halloween campa_lgns_ (ranging from 18 stops in -Ewc^cTays to 65 stops"Tn°"four days) ; his tours of„Asia, Europe and" Africa on behalf of UNICEF. Danny has helped to make UNICEF par't 'o£""the"""American Vocabulary and the best known agency of the United Nations. As UNICEF's goodwill ambassador, he has been an effective advocate for children in the developing coun- tries . H1 s_Y£> Lunt ar Y__sj5rv i^g_gP£ns a Imo s_t__a__gjjar t e r of a cen- tury, a remarkable record of commitment in any language". The- UNICEF award befits this extraordinary humanitarian whose con- cern for a better world has inspired millions, children and adults alike. After the ceremony, Danny is scheduled to meet the press at about 12:30 on the second floor press room. o A shy kid becomes a world-famous entertainer,„„ an untrained musician stars in musical comedies and conducts orchestras? a non-linguist imitates languages well enough to delight the natives,, „„<, these are just a few of the fascinating, seeming- contradictions which a famous, steadfast UNICEF volunteer reveals in this special 3Oth Anniversary interview; THE FASCINATING PARADOXES OF DANNY KAYE by Judith Spiegelman UNICEF Staff Writer Millions of children around the world owe a big debt of gratitude to a shy little red-haired boy from Brooklyn, New York« He grew up to be the world-famous entertainer, Danny Kaye, and is now making his 15th cross-continental good-will jtojur _t^__honour UNICEF's 3Oth anniversary. Was Danny Kaye really a shy little boy? This is how he described himself as a child in a recent interview held in UNICEF's officess "Funnily enough, I was a reserved child00<,a very, very quiet child0..a rather withdrawn kid, I'd be part^of the group, and then I'd go off by myself. I'd go to school for a while, and then I"d know that I couldn't go anymore, and I'd stay home0 And they'd come and get me, and I"d go back again, M The class clown? No, I really wasn't that0 I did cut up some, and did appear in some class shows. I was a watermelon seed in our PeS» (Public School) 149 minstrel show in Brooklyn, made up like a little black boy, except for my ears, and my flaming red hair above. /»ooOur -2- Our faces poked through big holes in a huge painted slice of water- melon,, And we sang a little song which I've long since forgotten,, "It never occurs to me now to tell anyone I was shy when I was young "because they'd say, 'Oh, ho, hoi You were shy? Aw, come --on, nowl The crazy things you doj ' But I was0 And I'm not the least bifsuire that that wasn't what drove me into my profession,, „ „ or at least pointed me into my profession It was a basically a need -for self-expression.