commission agenda. the peace building fund is helping to finance the construction of five regional justice and -- so these vital institutions can serve all the country's people. the fund was also instrumental in establishing the land commission, which is finding practical ways to solve land disputes, a major trio of conflict. we hope these initiatives can serve as a symbol of our efforts to restore the country's institutions of state. to restore the country's institution of state and the concrete expression of hope for the future. ladies and gentlemen, conflict has declined significantly in the past two decades. this is a remarkable story. in sufficiently told.

yet one and a half billion people still live in a fragile or -- countries. for them, the world does not feel safe. for them, in security, in justy, in equality, define their days. we see rebels, gangs and organized crime syndicates undermining the institutions. we see violence driven by political exclusion. conflict over natural resources, a lack of jobs, grieve enss of corruptions and human rights abuses. over the past 20 years, too many countries that we thought had put an end to violent country, so it erupt again. because of mismanagement of the

situations by international community. their political institutions were not yet effective. to resort differences peacefully. these high rates of relapse that the international community to give fresh impetus to our work across the country settings for the new peace projects set up in 2006. our goal is to focus not only on negative peace, but absence of violence. but also on the foundations of long-term civility and party of peace. we aim to give confidence to the people. and political support on the long-term. especially when the media and -- to give -- to obvious crisis.

when the tv crews are there to cover the stories, the international communities, than these praises who you have been just forgotten from our potential. the experience has brought many guesses. let me tell you. the first, there is no fix the sequencing among peace keeping, peace building. we need not wait for the end of military or peace keeping operations to fail peace building on the way. our peace keeping missions are often important. only peace builders as we saw in sierra leone, still, we see in liberia and hope to see in south of sudan. where our peace keeping mission

probably has the most ambitious peace building mandate ever. second, peace building is a task before many actors. government, civil society, opinionists, communities, a long-term u.n. development presence all have a role to play. this is also reflected in the diverse membership of the peace building commission. our challenge is to align them behind a coherent strategy. third, measure ownership and leadership crucial. peace building success stories such as -- have been associated with strong national leadership and genuine social engagement. at times however, limited local capacity is -- so is the

tendency of some to support projects that might satisfy -- but that do not reflect local priorities. there are some countries who earmark their support to their own domestic interests, which will not be helpful in establishing stability that when you support this peace building commission, you should not have that kind of a local interest. by your own domestic interest. we have also seen some governments reluctant to focus on the key peace building priorities of their people. myanmar, from where i just returned, an example of transition. stated program of change has been backed up by concrete

reforms. the international community is now eager to invest, we are committed to ensure that the impact is positive for the country's peace building efforts. our fourth lesson is that even certain staples after conflict activity can go wrong. elections can be devicive sometimes. we have seen many such cases. elections should work as a rallying point of national policies. but sometimes, these elections have been used as a devicive. even the building of a school or clinic can exacerbate tensions if communities are not properly engaged.

or local construction firms are excluded. inclusiveness is essential. our fifth peace building needs to be incorporated more fully into development corporation. eight must go beyond traditional projects to support peace building and state building such as justice, security, jobs, social services. and credible political processes. this is a key element in the so-called new deal reached at last year's conference on defectiveness. the new deal is being piloted in seven countries all of which have u.n. peace keeping initiatives. we must also consider how to incorporate such a force into the development agenda after 2015, the target day for

achieving the development goals. especially in the after math of arab spring, it is clear that issues such as political participation, human rights and security are integral in satisfying aspirations. tunisia, for example, was making rapid progress towards new development rules such as political -- it is crucial that resources can be provided particularly to fit the windows of opportunity. not long ago in africa, a hold out revenue movement expressed willingness -- >> and you can watch the rest of this online as we go back to the atlantic council's awards dinner an two more honors.

a marine corps sergeant as well as ban ki-moon. >> i can imagine no man more appropriate to present the next award than the most senior enlisted individual, joe and mika, let me introduce you to another chuck hagel. this is the one who served in the ninth infantry division with his brother, tom, in 1968 during the vietnam war. these two enlisted soldiers were literally brothers in arms serving side by side. they as often as not walked point together. the most dangerous spot at the head of their ambush and reconnaissance patrols in the steaming jungles of the may con

delta. that watched as their comrades perished around him, still managing acts of bravery that resulted in five purple hearts. they also saved each other's lives. chuck hagel pulled his unconscious brother out of a carrier before it blew up, turning his face into bubbley blisters. he prayed as he watched blood pour out of tom's ears. he reflected after that as he lay near death severely burned in a makeshift hospital. quote, i made a promise to myself, he writes in his excellent book, that if i got out of that place, and was ever in a position to do something about war, so horrible, so filled with suffering, i would do whatever i could to stop it.

i have never forgotten the promise, unquote. he understands the sacrifices we have made this evening because he has made them. he understands how difficult it is to rejoin society because he has done it. he understands the traumas that prince harry has spoken of so eloquently. his life of public service has been informed in so many ways from what he experienced as a young man. sergeant hagen, mr. chairman, we of a atlantic council salute you. >> fred, thank you, i am grateful for the opportunity to make this award presentation,

not to just because i was once an enlisted man in the armed forces and not because i have anything against offers. but the enlisted men and women, they're the ones who earn an honest living. you know, when i was in the army, generals used to paralyze me and scare the hell out of me. that no longer is the case. sergeant majors do. that's right, your former sergeant major there. enlisted men and women deserve special recognition, not slighting our officers and those who also dedicate themselves to our country to make it a bert world. but tonight, we honor enlisted men and women in our armed

forces and i might add because representative here tonight are so many ambassadors from all over the world and each of those ambassadors represents a nation and i've always believed not having anything to do with me or my brother, but it is the enlisted men and women of any country's armed force. that makes up the sinew and blood and tissue and the muscle and the fabric and the experience of our services. i doubt there was an officer in this room, other distinguished officers in this room who would disagree with anything i just said or that we are honoring our enlisted men and women tonight, but since i have the microphone, that's the way we're going to do it.

enlisted men and women don't have much to do with making policy. but enlisted men and women fa h faithfully carry out the policy. they don't ask for anything special. it is enlisted men and women and their families that are the ones who really take a tremendous amount of the brunt of the active duty work and make a tremendous amount of the sacrifices and again, i doubt if there is a general or his or her spouse in this room that would question that. i thought prince harry's comments about families was particularly important and i want to thank prince harry and his brother, prince william, for tokt what they do in recognizing our men and women all over the world.

men and women who serve in the armed forces do it because they believe in something. they believe in a noble cause. they believe in their country. they believe in the security for their country. but they believe in something deeper and bigger than that. they believe in a better world. they believe they can help make a better world and after all, regardless of the service, the military service or the ngo service or what paul polman talked about tonight in the corporate leadership universe, it is about service. it is about making a better world. it is about leaving behind a better world. and it's about young people. we understand that and we know that. every parent in this room understands it very well. and so to recognize these quiet,

unacclaimed he rows is the right thing to do. i think it balances very well the other honorees tonight. it recognizes yes, the sacrifices and services of these young men and women and their families and it makes a statement and who we are. any man or woman who was served his country in uniform know that those individuals are the ones who most hate and detest war, but they also understand that a strong defense, a strong security is tie vital to building a bridge to a better understanding. it is about that platform building that i referred to in my remarks earlier tonight. now, i am going to ask a very distingished individual, the senior enlisted adviser to the

chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to come up here in a moment, but i want to tell you just a bit about him as sergeant major batiglia will come up here and receive the award along with other enlisted men and women on behalf of all the enlisted men and women in our armed forces. marine corps sergeant major is the enlisted adviser to the joint chiefs of staff. in this role, he serves as the principal military adviser to the chairman, the secretary of defense on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force and joint development for enlisted personnel. he is the recipient of many, many prestigious military honors awards and decorations including

bronze star with v, purple heart, american accommodation met metal. his wife is here tonight, who also deserves recognition. the men and women in uniform that are around the room here tonight in uniform are here to represent their colleagues in the five services of our country and we applaud them and had an opportunity right before dinner was served to have them backstage and get paragraphs with rather significant military leaders like general powell and all the honorees, which was a great treat for them, but each including general powell, said it was a bigger treat for them, the honorees, to get their picture taken with these enlisted men and women. as an ol army sergeant, for a

marine, he's not done a bad job. he's all right. sergeant major, please come up. ♪

♪ >> senator hagel, members of the atlantic council, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. as i stand before you, illuminated with pride, let me thank you for this prestigious honor you have bestowed upon the enlisted men and women, those who have served and those who are serving as members of our united states armed forces. we are extremely grateful.

[ applause ] >> thank you. we are extremely grateful to be recognized alongside such other distinguished leaders and humanitarians here this evening. allow me to express my profound appreciation for what you do each and every day across our globe. as our military senior noncommissioned officer and a life-long member to this profession of arms, it is indeed humbling to represent an enlisted corps of over one million men and women, a diverse and powerful composition reaching all walks of life. no corner of our country untouched, and an enlisted corps which has continuously evolved into our present core of dynamic leaders. traditionally referred to as the backbone of our military, our enlisted force brings a robust strength, a riveting skill and the grit to carry a heavy load.

across the years we've witnessed a transformation of uniformed craftsmen who primarily specialize in one specific skill, to a 21st century multidimensional, multitalented enlisted core that comprises over 80% of our total force. as times have evolved, so too has our society and the way sees the add significance and value of our enlisted military service member. equally important to mention that leading our enlisted core are noncommissioned officers and petty officers who bring an advanced portfolio of expertise and of art. we are no longer just simply a defender of society, but rather a vigorous group which helps sustain the commitment of americans to everything we value -- honor, equality opportunity, resiliency, leadership, and integrity, to mention a few. many of you in this room,

notably his royal highness prince harry, a fighter pilot in the british armed forces can understand the trust, confidence, leadership and commitment needed from his soldiers in order for the mission to get accomplished. i share the stage with five warriors. staff sergeant tanner welch. >> army. petty officer first class curtis robinson, navy, technical sergeant lisa tomlinson, air force, petty officer second class lisa an peek, coast guard. [ applause ] they too stand here this evening and share the pride in representing an enlisted force both past and present. enlisted service members dating back 237 years, infinite in our lineage, yet the beginning of

building a world class military that still proudly serves its nation today. across the decades, from the american revolutionary war to the barbary pirates to the jungles of vietnam, to the current conflict, our enlisted men and women have patrioticallr homeland and beyond. enlisted warriors of past like sergeant alvin york who during world war i led an attack on a german machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, and capturing 132 others. warriors of present like our special forces operators who risk much to ensure that our adversaries bring no hamplt present warriors like our national guardsmen especially during times of natural disaster can bring immediate response and relief to our communities and neighborhoods. enlisted warriors who noblebly

gave their full devotion of duty and now lie in formations within the hallowed grounds of our cemeteries. finally, enlisted warriors like those here this evening, sons, daughters, siblings, even parents who look for no fanfare, but rather patriotic opportunity, opportunity to make a difference, opportunity to make our country a better place. ladies and gentlemen, it would please me to no end if all enlisted service members past and present in the audience tonight please stand and allow us to recognize you. [ applause ]

thank you. this robust and artistic group in which you recognize this evening would never have accelerate order developed over the years if it were not for the intellectual vision of our commissioned officer corps. our senior leaders captured the potential value and our competencies of our enlisted. it is those bona fides that has bridged the trust and confidence between our officer and noncommissioned officer corps. general dempsey and i are tremendously proud of our enlisted force, but we also recognize that we cannot do what we do without the unwavering support of our families. the commitment and sacrifice of our spouses, children, parents, and siblings play a vital role to our past success and the sustainment of our future. and so in closing, let me proclaim that our enlisted men and women represent an all volunteer force who remains attached to our society, an essential part in the shaping of our country.

these men and women are not just guardians of our nation, but rather the future of our democracy and the aspiration of a world's people. thank you again for this monumental honor, and may god continue to bless our troops and their families. thank you. [ applause ] >> now we come to the culminating portion of the

evening when we award the 2012 distinguished international leadership award. it is my privilege to invite to the stage the man who will present the award to this year's recipient, united nations secretary general ban ki-moon, dr. henry kissinger, after which, after ban ki-moon's address, the great will send us all home with a musical tribute to the secretary general and to the united nations. henry kissinger is a man who needs no introduction. let me repeat that. henry kissinger is a man who needs no introduction. no, no, no, wait a minute. just a minute. i'm not sure i got that introduction quite right. the last time i heard dr. kissinger introduced that way years ago by ibm ceo lou

gerstner, dr. kissinger came to the podium, and in his inimitable fashion said thank you, lou, but your introduction was far too modest. so when lou was called upon again to introduce dr. kissinger, he mentioned dr. kissinger's comment, and then he went on at some length about his brilliance, his books, his government service, his nobel peace prize, and so on and so on, and went on for some time. and then he came to the podium and said to the audience, lou, it is true that no man needs an introduction less than i do, but no man appreciates one more. as national security adviser and then secretary of state to presidents nixon and ford, dr. kissinger was a key participant in foreign policy debates at everst