the atlantic council 2005 recipient of the international distinguished leadership award former secretary of state chairman of the joint chiefs honorary director of the atlantic council and one of the most celebrated men in this country and around the world. >> ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm atlantic council greeting to general colin powell. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much, joe andmy kai for r your kind introduction. it's a pleasure to be back especially on this occasion when the atlantic council has a privilege of presenting this distinguished leadership award to prince henry of wales though all may know him better as

prince harry and i prefer to know him even better as captain harry wales. don't you forget it, captain. apart from recognizing his contributions to humanitarian projects, i would be remiss if i didn't note his presence has halted the demographic make up of make up of our audience. we have a number of young, single women attending this year. prince harry, you saw them outside. i also have to say that the average age for an atlantic council dinner has dropped 25 years as a result of your presence. and that, we really, really thank you.

prince harry is a young man who has groan up good looks and royal privileges. it would have been easy for him to choose a life of ease and lee shoour. instead, he chose a different path. it is a path that fully embraces the noblest tradition of service to his country and fellow human beings. on the one hand, prince harry has bravely followed a tradition general races of british royals before him by serving his country in the military. he is an army officer in the british army since tuition. and deployed with the household cavalry regiment to helmand province in 2008. during his time there, he served in the front line directing american and british aircraft among enemy targets.

he has shown he knows what it means to lead by example. even when it means possibly paying the ultimate price. almost three years ago, he applied for private training at the army air corp. his aptitude and skills were islely suited to this role and he earned a place in the apache helicopter course as a result of that. the end of this training, his training this year, he was awarded the flag for best co-pilot guide. one of two awards that mark the best students in the course and he is now serving as an apache pilot with three regiment air corp. on the other hand, prince harry has wholeheartedly continued the royal tradition of advocating on behalf of society's less fortunate. clearly, the loving effort princess diana made has touched

the heart aps souls and continues her legacy. harry and his brother have always focused on veterans welfare. they launched help for heroes in 2007. both princes played a leading role in their positions to put the spotlight on this extraordinary charity. since is creation of the foundation, in 2009, both princes have moved to make their own mark in the world of philanthro philanthropy. they have acted together in support of veterans charities undertaking numerous engagements and developing many initiatives to help veterans. for someone so young, prince harry's charitable donations are very, very significant. through his efforts, he restores hope and confidence to those who

have been wounded in the service of their country. the most prominent example of this is the participation, his participation in the walking with the wounded program, which helps wounded troops demonstrate their courage and determine information as they prepare for return to civilian life. prince harry has shown a remarkable ability to lead by example and demonstrated the experience of using one's e appearance, talent and position to benefit one's fellow man. the atlantic council recognize it is tremendous commitment prince harry brings and honors him for the significant impact of his charitable work on behalf of soldiers and their families. in presenting him with the 2012 distinguished humanitarian leadership award, we know he will continue to be an aspiring example to many people around the world on the importance of service to others.

ladies and gentlemen, i am honored to present to you the recipient of the 2012 humanitarian leadership award, his royal highness, prince harry. ♪

this isn't daunting at all. general powell, thank you very much for your incredibly kind words. for a captain in the british ar my to be introduced by such a world renowned soldier and statesman is truly humbling and a little terrifying. so, it is with great humility that i accept this award. generally, i obviously don't feel that i've done near ly enough to deserve it, but i'm immensely grateful to the council, senator check hagen, fred kemp and the board of the atlantic council for affording me this great honor. if i may, i would like to accept the award on behalf of my brother, william, our foundation, all those on both sides of the atlantic who work so tirelessly to support our wounded veterans, but particularparticular ly for the guys because this is their award.

it would be rude of me to speak for this heroes, but not presupgs of me to pay tribute to them. so many of our servicemen and women have made the ultimate sacrifice. so many lives have been lost and so many changed forever by the wounds that they have suffered. they have paid a terrible price and keep us safe and free. the very least we owe them is to make sure that they and their brave families have everything they need through the darkest days and in time, regain the hope and confidence to flourish again. for these self-less people, it is off to the guns of fallen silent, the dinner battle quietened, that the real fight begins. a fight that may last for the rest of their lives. we will all continue to support our armed forces in defense of freedom at home and abroad, but sooner or later, coverage of

them in the media will diminish or cease as forces withdraw from afghanistan. they will no longer be in our minds, but the injuries left, watching a fellow comrade injured or killed, these tr experience that remain with you for life. both physically and mentally. we must be there for our servicemen and women and their families, standing shauler to shoulder with them always. british and american forces train together, they fight together and tragically, some are wounded and some die together. it makes perfect sense to me therefore that we should where ever possible and appropriate work together by proving our expertise and experience to heal and support the wounded veterans of both our nations truly brothers and sisters in arms. it was a privilege for me to fly

alongside members of the united states armed forces. their professalism and dedication to the values we hold dear are inspirational. i would personally like to congratulate marine sergeant major brian bataglia. i hope i said that right. he is to receive an award tonight recognizing the united states armed forces contribution to freedom. using our fortunate position, william and i have sought to change the challenges, to help mobilize, support and resources for them. we have tried to do what we can to ensure our servicemen and women and their families leave the military with purpose, hope and confidence. whether in their working environments or the wider community, these fine people, examples to us all, have an invaluable contribution to make.

last year, i struggled to keep up with four british soldiers who i join ed for part of their expedition towards the north pole. each of these men had been gravely wounded on the battlefields of afghanistan. theirs was the faster team to reach the pole that season and at this very moment, another team of our wounded are returning from mt. everest. sadly, i have to be the first to say that i understand they have been frustrated from reaching the summit by the unusually warm weather, which brings particularly dangerous conditions, however, the mere fact that these guys are up on their fearsome peak, i find totally amazing. ladies and gentlemen, these people, ours and yours, are are extraordinary. that is why i feel so humbled ak cement i cementing this wonderful honor from you tonight. i congratulate my fellow award winners, but most of all, i salute our wounded veterans.

thank you very much. >> thanks so much to prince harry for being here tonight, but more importantly, for his service and most importantly tonight for bringing attention to the men and women who serve in this country and all across the world for our freedoms. especially those that come home injured. now if you will, please enjoy your dinner.

>> just a dinner break here, e taking a short break and we

expect them to resume in about half an hour with two more honorees. marine corps sergeant bataglia will receive an award. also, ban ki-moon will be recognized for his leadership in addressing global challenges. earlier today, the secretary general was invited to speak at the center for strategic and international studies here in washington and during his remarks, he outlined the purpose behind the united nations peace building fund and its importance in helping post conflict nations emerge with strong and stable governments. while we wait for the awards ceremony to resume, we'll show you some of that. he was introduced by -- and trustee and former u.s. national security adviser.

>> ladies and gentlemen, it is a genuine honor for me as well as a source of great pleasure to be able to introduce to you a global statesman who personifies the hopes of humanity. he is after all the only public official that represents truly the whole world. it's a unique position and it really is food for thought that it took so many centuries of conflict throughout the world for such a position to emerge, to become institutionalized, personalized and so much increasingly successful. that is to some extent a very important measure of human progress. his life originated, commenced

roughly the midpoint of the 20th century. perhaps the worst sencentury in human history. to be more precise, he was born in 1944. in his subsequent life in korea and then in various international positions cull min nating of course with his appointment first at foreign minister of korea then his selection as general secretary of the u.n., took place in a setting dominated in the first phase so to speak by the dilemmas and necessities of economic recovery. korea suffered in the course of world war ii. and then it sufed evfered in thn many in the late 1940s and then continued into the 1950s. economic recovery was a

essential precondition for well being and survival. and that was part of his growing up. he also lived through a period of life which followed there after which involved the spread of democracy. to many parts of the world as well as self-determination throughout the world. he in fact witnessed the end of the imperial cloolonial era in human affairs. and now, we're living in an age and in a century in which we're increasingly aware of the fact that the choice before us is increasingly that of self-destructive global turmoil. perhaps not new world wars because of the destructiveness of weapons of mass destruction, but none the less, global turmoil, which runs the risk of

poisoning the political atmosphere of mankind and more important, preventing the kind of global cooperation which is now so necessary for dealing with the novel problems of the 21th century. problems which indeed address the fundamental question to operate on this earth in a cooperative and congenial fashion. this is what motivates the effort in international institution building. in a speech today is going to be dedicated to an important facet of the undertaking. namely peace building. this is a new and important enterprise with which he is personally associated under which he provides the inspiration and needed direction.

following his remarks, you will be able to answer questions. please identify, please do not make your question too long, but otherwise the subject of the discussion is open to choice. so mr. general secretary, it's a plr for me to see you here and please, take the floor and we're eager to hear you. >> distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor for me to participate in this very important gathering with so many distinguished friends with whom i have been walking very closely and thank you for your support and this opportunity.

dr. brzezinski, it's always a pleasure for me to meet you and you have been at all, the center of global affairs for so many decades. and it has been one of my source of inspiration and honor to get all good advices and councils from you and you have been such a good, strong partner of the united nations and i really count on your continuing such support. and i also am glad to see dr. shawn henry who has been a good friend and supporter of the united nations. i am very happy to see him in good health and i'm looking forward to working very closely with this csis. we have long been partners. we have shared information and ideas. and people, too.

ladies and gentlemen, we are here to talk about peace building. the topic could not be more timely or important. peace building and prevention on the agenda i have set out. as i began my second term as secretary general of the united nations. and throughout the world, the united nations is helping fragile countries through delicate across the country transitions. we are there at the crucial period immediately following the end of hostilities, helping to build institutions. address good causes. helping societies torn by war from sliding back into conflict. the main concern of peace building is that while the peace

keeping has been core responsible responsibleties of the united nations, but when these countries are out of conflict, we should prevent them from sliding back. this is a country, more important at this time. we have 16 united nations peace keeping operations around the world. keeping 120,000 soldiers. this is huge operations for any country. except the united nations. united states. shockingly and second commander in chief next to president obama. where we are keeping 120,000 soldiers. only the united states keep more than 120,000 soldiers aboard.

we have fielded another commissions, what is known at special missions. some with peace building mandates. our record of achievement in nurturing recovery fromflict is long. of course, there have been setbacks, but the bottom line is clear. the united nations is a deal where we are most and just ask -- our engagement has helped many societies make a new start. peace building saves lives. it protects human rights and promotes the rule of law. it saves money with a cost that are just a fraction of peace keeping operations. military operations. and the economic damaged caused by the conflicts, so it is quite

natural that peace building is taken on a greater profile in the work of the united nations for peace. and so, it is good to be here today. today. to mark six years since the establishment of peace building commission. the peace building fund. and it's a support of this. these institutions were created to provide sustained political support through post conflict countries. and to provide fast and catalytic funding to peace building efforts. last year, the fund allocated hundred million dollars for activities in 14 countries. our challenge is to sharpen the tool. that is what we are here to talk about today. ladies and gentlemen, let me

begin our discussion by taking you to the headlines. 12 days ago, the former president of liberia, charles taylor, was convicted of crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict in sierra leone. the vote against another landmark in international criminal justice and our fight against impunity. this is the first condition of our head of state for commission of crimes since the nurm berg trials. i'm certain as the age of accountability takes hold that it will be their last. but authority also provides a window on to u.n. peace building. sierra leone, charles taylor was

convicted. at one time, hoisted, one of our largest united nations peace keeping operations. more than 7,000 personal and soldiers. with this, that operation helped to establish the country. today, our peace keepers are gone. in their place, we have a small political mission with about 100 people. when violence between political parties erupted in 2009, the mission leadership for the ground and peace building commission in new york were in impending. the peace building fund meanwhile has supported steps to help young people and others participate in the country's political life. such efforts recognize the -- political nature of peace building.

and they help to prevent a renewed escalation of political violence. i visited two years ago. a number of people, amputees, the most striking reminder of the wars of brutality. that was one of my most moving and saddened to visit. to have seen so many young people whose arms or legs were amputated and by just -- and conflict. they organized a soccer game in honor of me and i saw these people with the crutches, with one leg, one arms, they were fighting and struggling to play soccer games, but to my mind, they were better than world cup

soccer players. they were even charging each other. i was so moved. they were trying to overcome this tragedy. their personal tragedy with the help of peace building activities. we just wanted to give them some sense of hope. that just at the despair by being amputated, but they thought they could overcome even without their arms or legs. in liberia, there has been a small mix of remarkable process and continued fragility and a similar interplay of peace keeping and peace building. the country has restructured the army and police with the help of united nations mission in

liberia. when i visited liberia in 2008, i saw the initial fruits of collaboration between the united nations, their cause. this is the economic condition of west african states. the african union and others including the united states. the mission in liberia has been able to reduce the size of its force from some 15,000 to less than now 10,000 soldiers. some of the conditions that led to 14 years of civil still exist and in society could be exploited again to incite violence. that is one of the reasons why the government of liberia has asked to be praised on the agenda of the peace building commission. and that country is one of the si