Kofi Annan Quotes (533 Quotes)

The people and government of Pakistan are faced with an extraordinary challenge and we need to make an extraordinary effort to support them, ... What is needed is an immediate and exceptional escalation of the global relief effort to support the work of the government of Pakistan.

No ideology, no course can justify the vicious killing of innocent civilians,

The permanent mission of Cuba to the United Nations wishes to protest strongly at the arbitrary decision and to state that it disagrees completely with the pretexts given.

Now we have a different situation, where one group of states, led by the U. S., is saying that some threats -- particularly terrorism and weapons of mass destruction -- are so dangerous that they dare not wait until they are attacked, or until there is an agreement in the Security Council, before taking action,

I suspect, whatever happens in the future, that kind of consultation will take place.

By signing the Oslo accords in 1993 he took a giant step towards the realization of this vision. It is tragic that he did not live to see it fulfilled,

Once human-to-human transmission has been established, we would have only a matter of weeks to lock down the spread before it spins out of control,

This initiative, which must lead to a full Israeli withdrawal and complete end of occupation in Gaza, can be a step towards achieving the two-state vision and could restart progress on the road map,

Now we turn to a new task to implement what has been agreed, and keep working to bridge differences that remain,

There are a lot of people who have come here to work here to tackle the food crisis,

does not look like a proposal at all. It is an insult to the Iranian nation. They have talked in a way as if the Iranian nation was suffering from backwardness, and the time was 100 years ago, and our country was their colony.

Unless the differences within the transitional federal institutions are addressed, the current political impasse could grow into deeper divisions and undermine the very institutions that the people of Somalia so ardently desire and the international community and the United Nations are willing to support,

I am telling the world leaders not only to come here and approve of a plan of action, but I expect them to go back home and do something about it,

I have been gratified by the clear determination expressed by NATO and its member governments to prevent a further escalation of the fighting, and I encourage all steps that may deter the further use of ethnically driven repression and the resort to violence by either side in Kosovo,

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.

Let me be absolutely clear the United Nations does not want to take over, police or otherwise control the Internet,

There are now 11 women heads of state or government, in countries on every continent. And three countries -- Chile, Spain and Sweden -- now have gender parity in government.

We've shared with them where we stand, what we hope to do next and explained to them the state of play,

How this crisis is resolved will affect greatly the course of peace and security in the region and the world, ... I commend the council for acting today with purpose and resolve.

no one in the international community defended what the Iranian president said and the Security Council itself issued a statement.

the urgency of breaking the cycle of violence.

Because the exploration of space knows no national boundaries, the loss of the Columbia is a loss to all humankind,

In terms of logistics, the difficult terrain makes this one of most challenging relief operations ever undertaken, ... Winter is approaching fast, and temperatures are dropping.

Camp David made major strides, and I hope we would be able to capitalize on that process and reach an agreement,

And unlike some natural disasters, in which victims die immediately, the death toll in Pakistan is not over yet,

I am certain that my settlement plan offers the best and fairest chance of peace, prosperity and stability that is ever likely to be on offer. ... Let us seize this chance for peace in the United Republic of Cyprus.

Lots of consultations are going on in various capitals. And everyone concerned, including the Americans, have made it clear they would prefer a diplomatic solution, ... Let us give it time. Let us see what happens.

The government of Syria has informed me that the smuggling of arms and people across the Syrian-Lebanese border does indeed take place, albeit in both directions,

the clear determination of the Afghan people to pursue the peaceful and democratic development of their nation.

Obviously we need all our tools, helicopters, trucks, communication to be able to operate, ... We are placed in a situation where the government has not been cooperating and has limited the movements of our troops.

It was normal for us to lend our support to candidates from (African) countries with links to France,

would be insufficient to address, even as a temporary measure, all the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people.

Two years ago, I declared that in my view no reform of the United Nations would be complete without reform of the Security Council. That is still my belief,

He in turn affirmed to me that they are interested in serious and constructive negotiation, but within a time frame.

I think it is possible to get a compromise resolution,

hundreds of thousands more people are likely to become displaced as the conflict spreads and the drought worsens in the next two or three months.

John took so long getting to the U.N. that we put him to work straight away, ... We threw him in at the deep end and he has been working ever since with the other ambassadors on the reform proposals.

For the first time, we are seeing the emergence of a response to this deadly disease that begins to match the scale of the epidemic itself,

The tragedy of Srebrenica will forever haunt the history of the United Nations

I think he's made many friends who I hope will all stay in touch with him, ... I wish him every success in his future endeavors.

We are determined to work with the government, with our NGO (non-governmental organization) partners and all the U.N. agencies here to ensure that all of those in need do get the help,

We need both performance and hope.

We have the means and the capacity to deal with our problems, if only we can find the political will.

The evidence of actual corruption among a small number of UN staff is also profoundly disappointing for all of us who work in the organization,

Once again I appeal, to Israelis and Palestinians alike, to rise above feelings of anger and vengeance, however natural, and to devote all their energies to negotiating a true and lasting peace in which two peoples will live side by side, each in their own state.

We support an all-inclusive process and we had hoped that this electoral process ... would pull the Iraqis together, ... It has not worked as we had hoped, but we still urge the parties to work together and I believe the reversal by the parliament of the decision last night would help the process.

It's something we will have to look at in a broader scheme, ... From here, I will be visiting Israel, and they will have an opportunity to share with me in detail what they have in mind.

I think it is wonderful news, what is coming out of Islamabad, and I am extremely happy that the talks are taking place.

I hope the report, which is a technical one, is not going to be politicized, ... I am determined to make it as technical as possible and not to allow a politicization of the process.

Guatemala is going through the most promising period of its recent history,