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One has to learn from history. Quite frankly, it is almost impossible to have a sense of vision without a sense of history. If history is learned, then it doesn't have to repeat itself over generations.

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
Without
Vision
Quite
Impossible
Almost
Frankly
Learn
Repeat
History
Repeats
Sense
Generations
Doesn
Learned

More quotes by Kofi Annan

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The fight against HIV/AIDS requires leadership from all parts of government - and it needs to go right to the top. AIDS is far more than a health crisis. It is a threat to development itself.
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When things are really desperate and hopeless and you can't do anything about this, and there's a sense that something must be done, that is something usually leads to the U.N.
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To go to war without the Security Council will not be in conformity with the Council.
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The invasion and occupation of Iraq is illegal.
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It's not that easy to quit. When you look back in the American system it is very rare that people quit on issues of principle.
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I think what gives me hope is I have the sense that the people of Kenya have turned the page. They are keen to get a new political dispensation. They are keen to fight corruption and impunity, and in that sense they are leaving the political elite behind.
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Intelligence can be used to manipulate.
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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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After the end of the cold war, everybody thought, fantastic, finally the UN may be able to do what it was originally set up to do without big power divisions. It would be easy to get them to come together to resolve things. You will recall, on the first Gulf war, you almost got a unanimous resolution and a very solid coalition.
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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.
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Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace
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More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations.
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I am not afraid to dream. You first have to start with a dream. Build your castles in the air and give it foundation. Without a dream, you are not going to get anywhere.
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You have to develop a certain healthy distance to allow you to keep a clear head, to be able to analyse the situation, lead your team, and move forward with them, because there are times if I'm not careful... if you get too involved, it will consume you it will consume you, and you will not be good to your team the issues you are dealing with.
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The problem is this. The spread of markets outpaces the ability of societies and their political systems to adjust to them, let alone to guide the course they take
Kofi Annan
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There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children.
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This is an historic step forward in the world's efforts to combat a truly global threat.
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Democracy is, in essence, a form of non-violent conflict management. If war is the worst enemy of development, healthy and balanced development is the best form of conflict prevention.
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In all these cases, part of the reasons for failure perhaps was not analyzing and assessing the true nature of the crisis, the resources that would be required, and exaggerated expectation of what the U.N. troops can do.
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Globalization is a fact of life. But I believe we have underestimated its fragility.
Kofi Annan