Kofi Annan quotes - page 5

Could you imagine if the U.N. had endorsed the war in Iraq, what our reputation would be like? (Kofi Annan)
I am a stubborn optimist: I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist. View quote
Kofi Annan
We cannot allow situations where leaders threaten war on television or on Twitter. View quote
Kofi Annan
When economic conditions are difficult, people tend to be less generous and protect themselves; the question of solidarity doesn't mean much to them at that time. View quote
Kofi Annan
Change is a process which has to be managed. View quote
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. View quote
Kofi Annan
Time and again, when member states and the governments are faced with an insoluble problem, and they're under pressure to do something, that something usually ends up being referred to the U.N. View quote
Kofi Annan
The U.N. doesn't have any troops; we borrow them from governments. View quote
Kofi Annan
The Arab Spring reminds me a bit of the decolonisation process where one country gets independence, and everybody else wants it. View quote
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. View quote
Kofi Annan
At the same time, ... whether our task is fighting poverty, stemming the spread of disease, or saving innocent lives from mass murder, we have seen that we cannot succeed without the leadership of the strong, and the engagement of all. (Kofi Annan)
Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. View quote
Kofi Annan
No one is born a good citizen no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline. View quote
Kofi Annan
Terrorism constitutes a direct attack on the values the UN stands for the rule of law the protection of civilians peaceful resolution of conflicts and mutual respect between people of different faiths and cultures. View quote
Kofi Annan
Today, no walls can separate humanitarian or human rights crises in one part of the world from national security crises in another. What begins with the failure to uphold the dignity of one life all too often ends with a calamity for entire nations. View quote
Kofi Annan
The United Nations believes that acceptance of these principles will help the Palestinian people achieve their legitimate goal of an end to occupation and the creation of an independent and viable state, living in peace and security with its neighbors. View quote
Kofi Annan
Both parties accept this vision. But we can reach it only if we move rapidly and in parallel on all fronts. The so-called 'sequential' approach has failed. View quote
Kofi Annan
Jewish people have been victims of anti-Semitism in many parts of the world, and in Europe they were the target of the Holocaust, the ultimate abomination. Yet, we cannot expect Palestinians to accept this as a reason why the wrongs done to them--dis. View quote
Kofi Annan
Asked whether donor nations may be becoming fatigued ... The fatigue may be there, but I don't think we can justify it in the face of such misery. We may need to wake up our conscience and our conscience must force us to act. View quote
Kofi Annan
Let us, above all, be clear that, without a convincing program of debt relief to start the new millennium, our objective of halving world poverty by 2015 will be only a pipe dream. View quote
Kofi Annan
a citizen of the world in the fullest sense -- one whose vision and culture gave him a deep empathy with fellow human beings of every creed and color. (Kofi Annan)
You have made people listen. You have made people care, and you have taught us that whether we are poor or prosperous, we have only one world to share. You have taught young people that they do have the power to change the world. View quote
Kofi Annan
Perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol. View quote
Kofi Annan
If we do not get a universal acceptance of the constitution the likelihood of the violence continuing is there. If it had been an inclusive exercise -- as when everybody had embraced the constitution and everyone saw his interest protected by the constitution -- I think it would have been a rallying exercise. We are not there at this stage. View quote
Kofi Annan
Justice has taken its course and the authority and legitimacy of the legal process must be respected. View quote
Kofi Annan