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UN:
MOURNING LUCIANO PAVAROTTI'S DEATH, BAN
KI-MOON PRAISES HIM AS 'TRUE FRIEND' OF UN:
06/9/2007 (MaximsNews.com, U.N.) |
UNITED
NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./ - 06
September 2007 –
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to the late Luciano
Pavarotti who beyond being one of the world’s
foremost tenor singers was a United Nations
Messenger of Peace.
“Mr.
Pavarotti made a profound contribution not only to
music and the arts, but also to people in need around
the world,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by
his spokesperson. “His work for children –
particularly those affected by armed conflict –
stretched from Afghanistan to Liberia and beyond.
“By
staging concerts and marshalling talented friends to
help raise funds, he generated millions of dollars for
humanitarian aid. A true friend of the UN, he
described himself as ‘a small link to help promote
the humanitarian aims and inviolable rights which are
under the United Nations flag,’” the statement
added.
Mr.
Ban joins Mr. Pavarotti’s countless fans and
admirers, as well as all those he worked to help and
heal, “in giving thanks for his life,” it
concluded.
The
Geneva-based Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) also issued a statement paying
tribute to the singer as a “staunch supporter” of
its work on behalf of people driven from their homes.
“Mr.
Pavarotti was deeply concerned about the plight of the
world’s uprooted people and generously used his
talents to mobilize public opinion and support for
UNHCR's global refugee work,” the agency said.
“His
annual ‘Pavarotti and Friends’ concerts, bringing
together some of the world’s greatest rock and pop
stars, provided invaluable support to UNHCR’s
projects in Kosovo in 1999, for Afghan refugees in
Pakistan in 2001, for Angolan refugees in Zambia in
2002, and for the agency's Iraq operation in 2003,”
it added.
Individual
donations during and after the concerts and the
proceeds from ticket sales and CDs totalled more than
$7 million for refugee projects over the years,
according to the statement.
In
2001, Mr. Pavarotti was presented the Nansen Refugee
Award, granted annually by UNHCR in recognition of
outstanding service to the cause of refugees, for his
great generosity. At the time, he had raised more
funds for the agency than any other individual.
“He
will be fondly remembered by the many UNHCR staff
around the world who had the pleasure of working with
him,” the agency’s Regional Representative for
Italy Walter Irvine said.
Labels:
United
Nations, U.N.,
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