Kofi Annan Quotes on War & Peace (28 Quotes)

How this crisis is resolved will affect greatly the course of peace and security in the region and the world, ... I commend the council for acting today with purpose and resolve.

I am certain that my settlement plan offers the best and fairest chance of peace, prosperity and stability that is ever likely to be on offer. ... Let us seize this chance for peace in the United Republic of Cyprus.

I believe it is a genuine expression of the will of the international community, led by the Security Council, to come together again after last year's divisions and to help the Iraqi people take charge of their own political destiny -- in peace and freedom -- under a sovereign government.

During this election period, maybe there are certain proposals or issues that can not be pushed, and things are going to be at a standstill for a while ... I hope that these elections will go smoothly and we can get back to pressing the parties on the peace process.

You will agree to establish a Peace building Commission, backed by a support office and a fund, ... This will mark a new level of strategic commitment to one of the most important contributions the United Nations makes to international peace and security. You will also agree to create a standing police capacity for the United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Since the war, we are all trying to bring people together. It is time to rebuild, to work together to stabilize Iraq, ... Whatever initiative or actions or decisions should be unifying rather than divisive. I would not characterize the decision taken yesterday as unifying.

It is important that those responsible for the violations of international humanitarian law and the law and customs of war that occurred during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia are brought to justice under due process.

I believe we should be seen as taking concrete steps to achieve the objective of two states living side by side in peace and security in three years' time,

I think it will be important to have them all here to discuss not only the peace process, but the implementation of the process and the action they need to take on the ground to make it really hold,

Obviously the war in Iraq did introduce major divisions in the international community, which is beginning to heal,

Today let us hear the bell ring loud and clear and true to our conscience, ... Let it ring out a century of cruelty and destruction and let it ring in a millennium of hope and peace.

were supposed to use force only in self-defense, or by a collective decision that it was necessary to use force in order to keep the peace.

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

I wish to stress that the United Nations is eager to be at your side in the efforts to resolve the problems of your country and the region on the basis of universal principles of peace, justice and human rights,

an opportunity to elect a president to lead the country into a new era of peace, democracy and prosperity.

Quite apart from his role as a spiritual guide to more than a billion men, women and children, he was a tireless advocate of peace, a true pioneer in interfaith dialogue and a strong force for critical self-evaluation by the Church itself,

The mediator for the Palestinian-Israeli issue is the United States, ... and I support very fully their efforts and I encourage the parties to work energetically and constructively with them in search of a durable peace.

The United Nations believes that acceptance of these principles will help the Palestinian people achieve their legitimate goal of an end to occupation and the creation of an independent and viable state, living in peace and security with its neighbors.

The United Nations and the Holy See share a strong commitment to peace, social justice, human dignity, religious freedom and mutual respect among the world's religions. The secretary-general looks forward to the contributions His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will make in strengthening those values.

There's been quite a lot of debate about the application of the Geneva Convention. ... Whether they are prisoners of war or common prisoners, there are certain rights and certain standards which have to be respected.

Asked by a reporter if he considered himself the last hope before a war, ... I have been described in those terms and I don't think that is misplaced.

There has been no progress in ameliorating the contention between leaders of the transitional federal institutions on four broad issues the relocation of the transitional federal institutions, a national security and stabilization plan, national reconciliation and the peace support mission envisaged by the African Union Intergovernmental Authority on Development,

The United Nations was founded as a reaction to the horrors of the Second World War. Even so, the international community has too often failed to stand up to mass atrocities. Let us pledge ourselves to even greater efforts to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity.

While he welcomed what he termed an unmistakable record of achievement and hard-won progress ... no time for complacency when it comes to the threat of nuclear war.

The secretary-general reminds all the parties of their responsibility for the security and the freedom of movements of U.N. peacekeepers, and he reiterates that any escalation of the tensions along the blue line could have serious consequences for peace and security in the region,

What do you do, for instance, if the peace you are trying to keep breaks down and large numbers of civilians are in danger of being massacred I said we must all do our utmost not to allow such horrors, and especially such appalling failures by the United Nations, ever to happen again.

This is a house of peace and we work in the interest of all nations and this kind of activity is not something that anyone can condone, ... I appeal to them to desist and use other means to raise their complaints.

Spending on the battle against AIDS in the developing world needs to rise to roughly five times its present level, ... The developing countries themselves are ready to provide their share ... but they cannot do it alone.