by by Bill Jackson

03 June 2001

BONN: On 8 April 1993, Atsuhito Nakata, the only son of Mr. Takehito Nakata and Mrs. Keiko Nakata, was assassinated in the course of his duties as a UNV District Electoral Supervisor with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. Shortly after Atsuhito's death, Mr. Nakata decided to abandon his successful career in imports/exports in order to follow his son's example in promoting human rights and the UN's vital work for the international community. It was thus decided to invite Mr. Nakata to become UNV's Honorary Ambassador.

In the eight years since his $1 per annum appointment, Mr. Nakata's association with the UNV programme has given it an extraordinarily high profile in Japan. This derives partly from the news prominence of Atsuhito's death in the wake of the Diet debates to change the Japanese Constitution to enable participation of the country's civilian police in UNTAC; and partly from Mr. Nakata's having undertaken more than 1,500 speaking engagements on UNV's and the UN's behalf throughout the length and breadth of Japan. He has represented UNV at major conferences held in Japan. He has also undertaken at least one field mission for UNV each year, with the deliberate inclusion of some countries in crisis where UN Volunteers have been asked to carry out roles involving degrees of personal and physical risk akin to those encountered in Cambodia. The countries visited include Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mongolia, Mozambique, Somalia and Uzbekistan, Brazil and Guatemala.

The Atsuhito Nakata Memorial Fund which Mr. Nakata established has financed several development initiatives in Cambodia, together with other volunteer-related needs. In addition, UNV received a generous donation of USD 100,000 in March 2001 for its work in the area of human security.

It was not coincidental that the Japanese Government played the key role in bringing about the International Year of Volunteers: Prime Minister Obuchi himself formally proposed the Year to the 52nd Session of the General Assembly.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented Mr. Nakata with the Dag Hammarskjoeld Medal in memory of Atsuhito.