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" I don't share the view that the ICC is anti-African. The ICC is not putting Africa on trial. The ICC is fighting impunity and individuals who are accused of crimes. "

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" When people say the U.N. is useless, I ask the question, which U.N. are we talking about? We have the U.N. that is a secretariat led by the secretary general, and we have a U.N. made up of member states who give us our mandate. "

Kofi Annan

Say

Useless

Talking

" 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. "

" I think it is not just the U.N. speaking, but the concept of a third party, a third party to a conflict speaking out. You know, sometimes saying, 'Stop, this is enough. This cannot be allowed to happen,' gives the victims and the people who are caught in that situation courage, encouragement, support. "

" 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. "

" The skills you need to fight the colonial power and the skills you need to gain independence are not necessarily the same you need to run a country. "

" Sometimes leaders slide from the role of freedom fighter into the presidency, which they may be unsuited for, but everyone accepts it until they hit the bump in the road. "

" 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. "

Kofi Annan

Impact

Questions

" 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? "

" We cannot wait for governments to do it all. Globalization operates on Internet time. Governments tend to be slow moving by nature, because they have to build political support for every step. "

" The Arab Spring reminds me a bit of the decolonisation process where one country gets independence, and everybody else wants it. "

Kofi Annan

Spring

Process

" 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. "

" 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. "

" We need to keep hope alive and strive to do better. "

" One has to have the strength of character to say the time has come to move on... unless you are a king. "

" 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. "

" Developing and newer democracies are much more susceptible to the tactics of populists and demagogues - they often do not have strong institutions, free press, or the infrastructure required to defend their nascent democracies. "

Kofi Annan

Defend

Free

" Governments have to conclude a fair, universal, and binding climate agreement, by which every country commits to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. "

" 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. "

Kofi Annan

Again

Problem

" On climate change, we often don't fully appreciate that it is a problem. We think it is a problem waiting to happen. "

" No single solution or actor can deal with the complex and interrelated challenges to electoral integrity arising from manipulated data, hate speech, and fake news. These phenomena are not new; they have been part of electoral cycles since the advent of democracy. "

" Above all else, we need a reaffirmation of political commitment at the highest levels to reducing the dangers that arise both from existing nuclear weapons and from further proliferation. "

" Could you imagine if the U.N. had endorsed the war in Iraq, what our reputation would be like? "

" Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. "

" Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations. "

" Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. "

" Unfortunately, very few governments think about youth unemployment when they are drawing up their national plans. "

" More countries have understood that women's equality is a prerequisite for development. "

Kofi Annan

Women

Development

" I am a stubborn optimist: I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist. "

Kofi Annan

Stubborn

Born

" Shifting towards low-carbon energy systems can avert climate catastrophe while creating new opportunities for investment, growth, and employment. "

" In the 21st century, I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion. "