Kofi Annan People Quotations

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.

I urge the Iraqi leadership for sake of its own people... to seize this opportunity and thereby begin to end the isolation and suffering of the Iraqi people.

In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda.

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.

What governments and people don't realise is that sometimes the collective interest - the international interest - is also the national interest.

We must ensure that the global market is embedded in broadly shared values and practices that reflect global social needs, and that all the world's people share the benefits of globalization.

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.

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.

I have always believed that on important issues, the leaders must lead. Where the leaders fail to lead, and people are really concerned about it, the people will take the lead and make the leaders follow.

If the United Nations does not attempt to chart a course for the world's people in the first decades of the new millennium, who will?

There are concerns that if we do not make progress ... desperate people will resort to violence again,

The process has been difficult, but the outcome is a clear demonstration of the will of all the members of the Security Council to place the interest of the Iraqi people above all other considerations.

The people of Serbia want to have a say in the decisions affecting them. And I hope that this choice and their voice will be heard.

Millions of children and young people are already affected by the pandemic - including those infected through the most heart-reading from of transmission, mother to child,

Obviously some of the efforts are being made to improve the conditions of the Iraqi people and make sure that the sanctions do not harm them. But if Iraq were to turn off the taps, then we'll be in a very serious situation,

I have argued for quite a long time that we should define humanitarian assistance in a broad enough manner to allow for assistance and repairs to electricity and heating systems and water for people through the winter, ... Otherwise we will have another humanitarian crisis on our hands.

for the sake of its own people and for the sake of world order.

History will judge them harshly and their people will not absolve them, if they fail.

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.

My people there are not complaining about the coordination.

The American people who have always been the most generous in responding to disasters in other parts of the world, have now themselves suffered a grievous blow,

We must resolve, even more firmly, to build nations within which people of different communities can coexist, and enjoy equal rights,

thousands of villages have been burnt and more than a million people forced from their homes. In all about 1.3 million need immediate assistance.

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.

We are going to work with the Congolese people and the government to make sure we make progress and consolidate peace and stability.

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

We need to decide our priorities. And we must adapt our United Nations so that in the future, those priorities are reflected in clear and prompt decisions leading to real change in people's lives. That my friend is what the people expect of us -- let us not disappoint them.

firmly convinced that the best interests of Ecuador and its people can only be served through the maintenance of constitutional order and the rule of law.

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,

We have a clear mandate from the Security Council to do whatever we can to work with the government and the people of Iraq to make sure Iraq takes charge of its own future and develops a stable peaceful society,

To advance the peace process, it will be important to put an end to the escalating violence in the north and east and to strictly uphold the cease-fire. The people of Sri Lanka deserve a new hope that peace could be in reach.

What is important is that we don't make a futile attempt to prevent people from crossing borders, ... The moving of people will continue.

Terrible inequalities continue to scar our world. Too many people continue to suffer and die from poverty, conflict and disaster - despite all the means at our disposal to create and share wealth, protect people from the violence of man or nature, and deepen respect for the dignity of every human being,

Any solution to the conflict must allow these unfortunate people to return voluntarily to their homes in full security and dignity,

You've heard the phrase it's a race against time. Indeed we are. In the next few weeks the snow will come, it will get extremely cold and there are some people in the open without shelter and we really need to get assistance to them. We need the support of governments, the private citizens, private sector and anyone who can spare a euro, a pound or a dollar.

They are concerned about the Iraqi population and civilian casualties. They are also anxious that assistance should get to the cities and to the people as soon as possible. But of course, they are worried as to how all this is going to turn out, which nobody really knows.

This moment belongs, above all , to the people of East Timor who have so richly earned their freedom.

This is where it all began, ... This is where people first came together and said, 'We have to stand up and assert our independence, our uniqueness, our freedom and our dignity.'

It is the plight of the Iraqi people which is now my most immediate concern.

It seems at times like a nightmare from which we are still hoping to awake, except that for millions of people in 12 affected countries, spanning two continents, and for tens of thousands of visitors from nations around the world, this nightmare is devastatingly real,

The lack of major gains here... would be a severe disappointment for poor people around the world yearning to lift themselves out of poverty.

I hope the reports are not correct, because he is a leader of his people who has played an important role in Iraq, and we need input from leaders like him,

In a world of intense economic competition, shifting populations and shrinking distances, the pressures of living together with people of different cultures and different beliefs from one's own are very real,

But I hope the work that has been done will not be wasted and that the people of Cyprus -- both Turkish and Greeks -- will see an advantage in pursuing this effort and bringing it to a fruitful conclusion.

I came here to show support for all the millions of people in the world who stand to benefit if the Millennium Development Goals are reached, especially the children who will be saved from malaria or Aids, who will grow up healthy, go to school and have the chance to earn their living and enjoy life.

For the crisis to be put permanently behind us, Iraq must move swiftly to ensure complete and unconditional compliance, ... This is the best way toward the lifting of (U.N. sanctions against Iraq) and a better life for the people of Iraq.

For people who went into Iraq with only the objective of assisting the people of Iraq to be killed in such a violent and senseless manner is something that none of us will ever comprehend,

The Iraqi people have made their decision and have approved the draft constitution,

The lean season in southern Africa traditionally starts in December and runs through March, but many people have already exhausted their food stocks,

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.

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.

Young people - with their dynamism, their energy and their inherent understanding of our interconnected world - have much to teach us. Increased educational attainment, advances in technology and the spread of information have made this generation the best educated, most connected and most informed in history

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

It is not in the United Nations that the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved. They have to be achieved in each of its Member States, by the joint efforts of their governments and people.

Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline.

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.

As I travel around the world, people think the only place where there is potential conflict [over] water is the Middle East, but they are completely wrong. We have the problem all over the world.

In an era of globalisation, AIESEC's programmes have helped young people around the world to develop a broader understanding of cultural socio-economic and business management issues.

As one of my predecessors said, our objective is not to take people to heaven, but to prevent humanity from going to hell.

You saw the traumas that people lived through, and wondered what it will take to move us as a human community, as humanity, to help in these dangerous situations.

Microfinance recognizes that poor people are remarkable reservoirs of energy and knowledge, posing an untapped opportunity to create markets, bring people in from the margins and give them the tools with which to help themselves.

The international community . . . allows nearly 3 billion people almost half of all humanity to subsist on $2 or less a day in a world of unprecedented wealth.

People of different religions and cultures live side by side in almost every part of the world, and most of us have overlapping identities which unite us with very different groups. We can love what we are, without hating what – and who – we are not. We can thrive in our own tradition, even as we learn from others, and come to respect their teachings.

Have confidence in the young people, give them a chance, and they will surprise you.

I am often asked what can people do to become a good global citizen? I reply that it begins in your own community.

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.

Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.