Kofi Annan Quotes
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When people say the U.N. is useless, I ask the question, which U.N. are we talking about? We have the U.N. that is a secretariat led by the secretary general, and we have a U.N. made up of member states who give us our mandate.
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Beneath the surface of states and nations, ideas and language, lies the fate of individual human beings in need. Answering their needs will be the mission of the United Nations in the century to come.
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It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.
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We cannot wait for governments to do it all. Globalization operates on Internet time. Governments tend to be slow moving by nature, because they have to build political support for every step.
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Sometimes leaders slide from the role of freedom fighter into the presidency, which they may be unsuited for, but everyone accepts it until they hit the bump in the road.
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There are a great number of peoples who need more than just words of sympathy from the international community. They need a real and sustained commitment to help end their cycles of violence, and launch them on a safe passage to prosperity.
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I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without UN approval and much broader support from the international community.
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We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.
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Over the past five years, I have often recalled that the United Nations' Charter begins with the words: 'We the peoples.' What is not always recognized is that 'we the peoples' are made up of individuals whose claims to the most fundamental rights have too often been sacrificed in the supposed interests of the state or the nation.
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Governments have to conclude a fair, universal, and binding climate agreement, by which every country commits to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
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And thanks to you, Mr Devine, and all your staff, and to the wonderful UNA chapter of Kansas City, for all you have done to make this occasion possible.
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Truman's name will for ever be associated with the memory of far-sighted American leadership in a great global endeavour. And you will see that every one of my five lessons brings me to the conclusion that such leadership is no less sorely needed now than it was 60 years ago.
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In the 21st century, I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion.
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The question is the morning after. What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What impact could it have? These are questions leaders I have spoken to have posed.
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Shifting towards low-carbon energy systems can avert climate catastrophe while creating new opportunities for investment, growth, and employment.
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We seriously have to question the motivation of those people referred to as climate change sceptics, who are denying the evidence of human-caused climate change and preventing us from moving forward by spreading disinformation and supporting unchecked carbon pollution.
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Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations.
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We don’t need any more promises. We need to start keeping the promises we already made.
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One has to have the strength of character to say the time has come to move on... unless you are a king.
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I think that my darkest moment was the Iraq war and the fact that we could not stop it.
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In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda.
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Often we mistake stability, in terms of security and economic activity, to mean a country is doing well. We forget the third and important pillar: rule of law and respect for human rights.
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Open markets offer the only realistic hope of pulling billions of people in developing countries out of abject poverty, while sustaining prosperity in the industrialized world.
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National markets are held together by shared values and confidence in certain minimum standards. But in the new global market, people do not yet have that confidence.