Kofi Annan
Access to a secure, safe and sufficient source of fresh water is a fundamental requirement for the survival, well-being and socio-economic development of all humanity. Yet, we continue to act as if fresh water were a perpetually abundant resource. It is not.Collection: Water
On this International Day of Peace, let us dare to imagine a world free of conflict and violenceCollection: World
The UN doesn't work in a vacuum.Collection: Vacuums
As we move forward, you cannot resolve the potential food crisis or shortages without science being part of the solution. Science has to be part of the solution but African governments - and these are decisions for governments, whether they embrace or do not embrace genetically modified food - and for the moment, most African companies do not accept genetically modified seeds.Collection: Moving
Let us, above all, be clear that, without a convincing program of debt relief to start the new millennium, our objective of halving world poverty by 2015 will be only a pipe dream.Collection: Dream
On this International Day of Peace, let us all honor those who have suffered from violence. Let us hold in our hearts the ideal of peace.Collection: Peace
The interesting thing is, everybody focuses on the global warming as an environmental issue, as something outside our daily lives. But actually the impact of global warming is with us today. Communities are suffering. Communities in poor countries are the ones paying the price, they are not the ones who are polluting, and we need to help them adapt.Collection: Country
When we talk about the UN, what are we really talking about? We are talking about my country, your country, other countries and their collective will to stand together and apply pressure or offer incentives to steer things in the right direction. When the nations of the world come together, with collective will, on an issue and they speak with a united voice, they have a much greater impact. When there is division, then the impact is much, much less.Collection: Country
Yehudi Menuhin was 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.Collection: Color
A world government can intervene militarily in the internal affairs of any nation when it disapproves of their activities.Collection: Freedom
The drafters of the [Refugee Convention ] had the Cold War in mind and mainly sought to protect a few thousand dissidents from the Communist bloc. They did not envision the mass displacements of people we are seeing today.Collection: War
Tony Blair is a very able politician; he's perhaps one of the best of his generation. He made a major contribution in many areas, but in Iraq I believe he got it wrong. He got it wrong.Collection: Believe
I can't think of a 30- or 40-year-old who can behave like Mugabe. They wouldn't even know where to begin, and given their own educational exposure, I think it will be very positive for Africa.Collection: Educational
I did not always achieve what I set out to do. Nevertheless, my personal example certainly suggests that hands-on experience can be helpful to future leaders.Collection: Hands
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.Collection: Moving
It is extreme arrogance for one to think he...and it's usually he, is the only one who can govern his country and nobody else can do it.Collection: Country
We must bring a message of solidarity, of mutual respect and, above all, of hope. Business cannot afford to be seen as the problem.Collection: Messages
Revolution by its nature can not be overly programmed or directed. There are so many forces at work that you don't know where and how it all ends.Collection: Revolution
Sadly, a prize for peace is a rarity in this world. Most nations have monuments or memorials to war, bronze salutations to heroic battles, archways of triumph. But peace has no parade, no pantheon of victory.Collection: War
We're all human. After 10, 15 years you get tired, you run out of steam and ideas, you have to give a chance to somebody else. And whether you yourself are inclined to stay on, all those around you are pushing you to stay on for what they will gain.Collection: Running
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.Collection: War
Sometimes I walk into a situation and I know somebody is going to provoke me - not maybe, I know he will provoke me - I know he will provoke me! And there are times when I simply refuse to be provoked. And the other times you have to use that superior knowledge to carry on at work without distraction, and don't allow yourself to be distracted. I laugh a lot inside and outside, and at myself sometimes.Collection: Laughing
The young and dynamic and idealistic people in the square do not have the chance to organise themselves politically, to be able to follow through their dreams in six months time, to play an effective role in the future.Collection: Dream
Does anyone seriously contend that any nation can fend for itself?Collection: Doe
Have confidence in the young people, give them a chance, and they will surprise you.Collection: People
Once you are really challenged, you find something in yourself. Man doesn't know what he is capable of until he is asked.Collection: Perseverance
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 peaceCollection: Real
It is impossible to realize our goals while discriminating against half the human race. As study after study has taught us, there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.Collection: Taught Us
The World is not ours to keep. We hold it in trust for future generations.Collection: Generations
If tolerance, respect and equity permeate family life, they will translate into values that shape societies, nations and the world.Collection: Family
It may seem sometimes as if a culture of peace does not stand a chance against the culture of war, the culture of violence and the cultures of impunity and intolerance. Peace may indeed be a complex challenge, dependent on action in many fields and even a bit of luck from time to time. It may be a painfully slow process, and fragile and imperfect when it is achieved. But peace is in our hands. We can do it.Collection: Time
It is within the family that children learn the values that will guide them for the rest of their lives. It is within the family that they form their earliest relationships, learn to communicate with others and interact with the world around them. It is within the family that the notion of human rights becomes a reality lived on a daily basis. If tolerance, respect and equity permeate family life, they will translate into values that shape societies, nations and the world.Collection: Children
As one of my predecessors said, our objective is not to take people to heaven, but to prevent humanity from going to hell.Collection: People
The happiness of any society begins with the well being of the families that live in it.Collection: Family
Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract - sustainable development - and turn it into a reality for all the world's peopleCollection: Future
No one is born a good citizen or a good democrat or a good leader; it takes time and education.Collection: Leader
The future of peace and prosperity that we seek for all the world's peoples needs a foundation of tolerance, security, equality and justice.Collection: Future
The problem is not with the faith, but with the faithfulCollection: Faithful
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.Collection: Cutting
I used to tell the story about as a young man in high school one of the professors came in and put a broad white sheet on the board with a dot in the right hand corner and said, "Boys, what do you see?" And we all shouted, a black dot. He stood back and said, "not a single one of you saw the broad white sheet, you all saw the black dot." He went on to tell us to focus on the broader picture, don't focus on the negative.Collection: Inspiration
Without a dream you'll not get anywhere.Collection: Dream
In an era of global abundance, our world has the resources to reduce dramatically the massive divides that persist between rich and poor, if only those resources can be unleashed in the service of all peoples.Collection: Our World
...let us continue to work together to develop and nurture in future generations a culture of human rights, to promote freedom, security and peace in all nations.Collection: Teamwork
No nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others. We all share responsibility for each other's security, and only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves.Collection: Responsibility
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.Collection: Dream
Each crisis is different, has its own specificities, and we need to look at it critically; look at each one in its own terms.Collection: Different
Obama saying Gaddafi must go. Putting it upfront like that... it's not very helpful.Collection: Gaddafi
Not only do these abominable weapons lie buried in silence and in their millions waiting to kill or maim innocent women and children; but the presence or even the fear of the presence of a single landmine can prevent the cultivation of an entire field, rob a whole village of its livelihood, place yet another obstacle on a country's road to reconstruction and developmentCollection: Country