Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annanis a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." He is the founder and the Chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as being the chairman of The Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela...
NationalityGhanaian
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth8 April 1938
CityKumasi, Ghana
CountryGhana
I think is it is very important that the Iraqi parliament reversed itself, because that decision was patently inappropriate and we made that clear to them,
At the same time, we have seen Iraqi prisoners disgracefully abused.
It is my view that, rather than allowing this situation to deteriorate into a crisis, the Security Council should engage with the Iraqi authorities in order to resolve the problem,
I would use this opportunity once again to urge President Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership to take the wise decision of resuming cooperation with UNSCOM and the atomic agency,
Leaders in the region remain engaged in the process of convincing President Saddam and the Iraqi leadership to disarm and cooperate with inspectors,
Opinions among Iraqis differed widely, as they still do, about the reasons for the foreign military presence in their country,
The Iraqi population showed incredible courage, going to vote in large numbers despite the security situation on the ground,
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,
As we move forward, we hope we will be able to work with the Iraqis and the coalition to find a mechanism for establishing a caretaker or an interim government until such time elections are organized,
The issue is not the acceptance, but the performance on the ground, ... So let the inspectors go in, and I urge the Iraqis to cooperate with them and to perform, and I think that is the real test we are waiting for.
The essential part of the discussion, ... try and establish an Iraqi administration that would be responsible for running its own affairs -- and not so much for the U.N. to take over the management of Iraq.
The Iraqi people have made their decision and have approved the draft constitution,
It is the plight of the Iraqi people which is now my most immediate concern.
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.