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United Nations and its Secretary General Kofi Annan have jointly bagged the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2001.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the prize, in two equal portions, for the efforts of both to ensure an 'organised and more peaceful world'.
Kofi Annan has devoted almost his entire working life with the UN.
As secretary general, he has been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organisation, a press release issued by the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
The release had this to say about Annan: "While clearly underlining the UN's traditional responsibility for peace and security, he has also emphasised its obligations with regard to human rights. He has risen to such new challenges as HIV/AIDS and international terrorism, and brought about more efficient utilization of the UN's modest resources. In an organisation that can hardly become more than its members permit, he has made clear that sovereignty can not be a shield behind which member states can conceal their violations."
Describing the UN, the release said, the multilateral organisation has achieved many successes, and suffered many setbacks.
The release said, "The end of the cold war has at last made it possible for the UN to perform more fully the part it was originally intended to play. Today the organisation is at the forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world, and of the international mobilisation aimed at meeting the world's economic, social and environmental challenges.
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