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Yo Yo Ma named as UN messenger of Peace
2006-09-22
UN chief Kofi Annan appointed Chinese-American virtuoso cellist Yo Yo Ma as a Messenger of Peace for the world body during a ceremony here to mark International Day of Peace. The 50-year-old French-born cellist thus joins Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, US boxing legend great Muhammad Ali, Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas and British primatologist Jane Goodall in campaigning for what Annan sees as the world's most urgent task: promoting peace. "On this International Day of Peace, let each of us pledge to do more, wherever we can make a difference, to bring about lasting peace," the secretary general said as he addressed a gathering of UN staff, diplomats, Douglas and Goodall. Annan rang the Peace Bell in the UN complex's Japanese Garden and at his request, UN staff and diplomats observed a minute of silence. The International Day of Peace was established by the UN General Assembly in 1981 to express the world's desire for peace.
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