Ladies and Gentlemen:

1. It is a honour and a pleasure to welcome Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Poul Nielson, European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, for the opening of this exhibition on Partnerships in Humanitarian Emergencies.

2. A concern for human security is naturally at the center of the work of the UNU. We have focused on issues of human security, in particular in Africa. We have undertaken work on Kosovo and the challenges it presented to the international community. We have looked at the key governance issues facing the United Nations.

3. In this context, starting tomorrow, the United Nations University (UNU) and the Delegation of the European Commission in Japan will hold an international conference entitled Partners in Humanitarian Crises: Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution - Towards a Comprehensive Approach. We will try to develop practical recommendations to improve international responses to humanitarian crises and raise public awareness.

4. To increase public awareness, we are organizing this special public exhibition on Humanitarian Emergencies in cooperation with the European Union (EU), the UN agencies in the "UN House" and the UNU. I would particularly like to thank Commissioner Nielson, Ambassador Jörgensen, all the EU staff and all the UN staff for the collaboration in bringing this together. As you will see, the exhibition features panels of information on humanitarian emergencies and partnerships in responding to humanitarian crises.

5. The exhibition is another example of our continuing efforts to make the Tokyo "UN House" more open, accessible and informative for the Japanese public.

6. I would now like to invite Poul Nielson and Secretary-General Annan to say a few words and then to open the exhibition.

Thank you very much.

United Nations University
Headquarters
53-70, Jingumae 5-chome
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan
Tel. (03) 3499-2811 Fax (03) 3499-2828
E-mail mbox@hq.unu