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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.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan
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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.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan -
Today I want to talk particularly about five lessons I have learnt in the last 10 years, during which I have had the difficult but exhilarating role of Secretary General.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan
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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.
Kofi Annan -
I think that my darkest moment was the Iraq war and the fact that we could not stop it.
Kofi Annan -
We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.
Kofi Annan -
If we can come up with innovations and train young people to take on new jobs, and if we can switch to clean energy, I think we have the capacity to build this world not dependent on fossil-fuel. I think it will happen, and it won't destroy economy.
Kofi Annan -
If citizens do not believe they can change their leaders through the ballot box, they will find other ways, even at the risk of destabilizing their countries.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan
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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.
Kofi Annan -
Governments have to conclude a fair, universal, and binding climate agreement, by which every country commits to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
Kofi Annan -
Could you imagine if the U.N. had endorsed the war in Iraq, what our reputation would be like?
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan -
One has to have the strength of character to say the time has come to move on... unless you are a king.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan
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We don’t need any more promises. We need to start keeping the promises we already made.
Kofi Annan -
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.
Kofi Annan -
To some extent, Rwanda became a victim of the Somalia experience.
Kofi Annan -
No single solution or actor can deal with the complex and interrelated challenges to electoral integrity arising from manipulated data, hate speech, and fake news. These phenomena are not new; they have been part of electoral cycles since the advent of democracy.
Kofi Annan