UN marks 60th anniversary of death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 9– The UN General Assembly on Thursday held an informal commemorative event to mark the 60th anniversary of the tragic death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. His wisdom and humanity, his unimpeachable integrity and single-minded devotion to duty set the highest standard for public service, said UN Secretary-General…
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — The UN General Assembly on Thursday held an informal commemorative event to mark the 60th anniversary of the tragic death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold.
Dag Hammarskjold is a reference and an inspiration. His wisdom and humanity, his unimpeachable integrity and single-minded devotion to duty set the highest standard for public service, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the event.
“Dag Hammarskjold was at home in the literature of half a dozen languages. But he was perhaps most fluent in the language of our common humanity — recognizing diversity as richness, promoting dialogue, tolerance, and mutual understanding,” he told the event.
“He was tireless in finding creative solutions to the most intricate and combustible problems of his time. And he remains a lodestar to this day. The values he embodied, the ideals for which he fought, and the strategies he championed remain guiding lights pointing the UN true north: to stand together in global solidarity, to place human rights at the center, to focus on prevention — multilateral in approach, sustainable in impact.”
Dag Hammarskjold had a vision for the United Nations to become both the measure and the vehicle of humanity’s most generous impulses. And he advanced it in practical ways — shaping the world body into an active force in making and keeping peace, nurturing and sharpening its obligation to act, said Guterres. “He showed us what the UN could become, and what the world around it should become: united in purpose and together in the pursuit of peace. He never wavered in his conviction that our United Nations — while imperfect — remained indispensable in this pursuit of a more just world. And he summoned us all to keep reaching higher.”
UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, who presided over Thursday’s event, said Dag Hammarskjold’s legacy does not end with the buildings named in his honor.
“His legacy lies in the Charter of the United Nations, in the ideals instilled within the United Nations family, in the lives saved by our Blue Helmet UN peacekeepers,” said Bozkir.
Dag Hammarskjold, the second UN secretary-general, died on Sept. 18, 1961, in a plane crash en route to cease-fire negotiations in Africa. The circumstances of the plane crash are subject to UN investigation.
Earlier on Thursday, Guterres laid a wreath in memory of Dag Hammarskjold. Enditem