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We at the U.N. have to take some of the blame, because we have not lowered expectations creating the impression we are here to save people, even when we have very limited resources.

Kofi Annan

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Kofi Annan
Age: 80 †
Born: 1938
Born: April 8
Died: 2018
Died: August 18
Diplomat
Economist
Politician
Coomassie
Kofi Atta Annan
Annan
Kofi A. Annan
Creating
Take
Lowered
Even
Limited
People
Impression
Expectations
Blame
Save
Resources

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My intimate knowledge of the [UN] system allowed me to get things done despite the many obstacles.
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Most people forget that even in Iraq, by the time the air and no-fly zone was established, the air defence system had been removed through the first Gulf war. All of them had been neutralised.
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Globalization is a fact of life. But I believe we have underestimated its fragility.
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Gather the five virtues (Dignity, Confidence, Courage, Compassion, and Faith). Then you are a man.
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A nation has the right to defend itself, but when it comes to the broader issue of peace and security, the legitimacy rests only with the Security Council.
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You will recall that for months after 9/11, there was incredible support and sympathy for the US. I really hoped and wished they had played on that, and kept all these friends they had made, and found a way of dealing with the terrorists through co-operation of international intelligence services, police exchange of information.
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There is a certain tendency on the part of some Americans to treat the UN as a multilateralism à la carte where you pick and choose where it suits you and when it doesn't suit you, you pull back.
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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.
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Let us work in partnerships between rich and poor to improve the opportunities of all human beings to build better lives.
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Poverty devastates families, communities and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict.
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One must also acknowledge that there are moments in an organisation's development when fresh blood and new vision are required, which may imply that an outsider may be better suited to the leadership role.
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The report [by a UN commission on Darfur] demonstrates beyond all doubt that the last two years have been little short of hell on earth for our fellow human beings in Darfur.
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The United Nations, whose membership comprises almost all the States in the world, is founded on the principle of the equal worth of every human being.
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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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We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.
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Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right.
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Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.
Kofi Annan
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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.
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Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope... Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition.
Kofi Annan
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Elections with integrity are a challenge everywhere, including in the West.
Kofi Annan