The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the UN and its Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, was richly deserved, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said in Dublin yesterday, writes Deaglβn de BrΘad·n.
"The UN embodies the universal truth that it is only by acting together that the international community can surmount the challenges it faces," he said.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was giving the $946,200 award "in two equal portions" to the world body and Mr Annan to recognise their work "for a better organised and more peaceful world".
The EU foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, said it was "an appropriate and much-deserved tribute to an organisation that has been a powerful force for good in the world for more than half a century, and to a man who has brought new energy and vision to that organisation".
In Rwanda, genocide survivors criticised the award. "He has a heavy responsibility in the Rwandan genocide," said Mr Antoine Mugesera, chairman of the Ibuka association of genocide survivors.