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© THE NOBEL FOUNDATION
2001
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Kofi Annan – Nobel Lecture
Nobel Lecture, Oslo, December 10, 2001
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Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies,
Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
Today, in Afghanistan, a girl will be born. Her mother will hold
her and feed her, comfort her and care for her – just as
any mother would anywhere in the world. In these most basic acts
of human nature, humanity knows no divisions. But to be born a
girl in today's Afghanistan is to begin life centuries away from
the prosperity that one small part of humanity has achieved. It
is to live under conditions that many of us in this hall would
consider inhuman.
I speak of a girl in Afghanistan, but I might equally well have
mentioned a baby boy or girl in Sierra Leone. No one today is
unaware of this divide between the world’s rich and poor.
No one today can claim ignorance of the cost that this divide
imposes on the poor and dispossessed who are no less deserving of
human dignity, fundamental freedoms, security, food and education
than any of us. The cost, however, is not borne by them alone.
Ultimately, it is borne by all of us – North and South,
rich and poor, men and women of all races and religions.
Today's real borders are not between nations, but between
powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and
humiliated. Today, no walls can separate humanitarian or human
rights crises in one part of the world from national security
crises in another.
Scientists tell us that the world of nature is so small and
interdependent that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon
rainforest can generate a violent storm on the other side of the
earth. This principle is known as the "Butterfly Effect." Today,
we realize, perhaps more than ever, that the world of human
activity also has its own "Butterfly Effect" – for better
or for worse.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have entered the third millennium through a gate of fire. If
today, after the horror of 11 September, we see better, and we
see further – we will realize that humanity is indivisible.
New threats make no distinction between races, nations or
regions. A new insecurity has entered every mind, regardless of
wealth or status. A deeper awareness of the bonds that bind us
all – in pain as in prosperity – has gripped young
and old.
In the early beginnings of the 21st century – a century
already violently disabused of any hopes that progress towards
global peace and prosperity is inevitable -- this new reality can
no longer be ignored. It must be confronted.
The 20th century was perhaps the deadliest in human history,
devastated by innumerable conflicts, untold suffering, and
unimaginable crimes. Time after time, a group or a nation
inflicted extreme violence on another, often driven by irrational
hatred and suspicion, or unbounded arrogance and thirst for power
and resources. In response to these cataclysms, the leaders of
the world came together at mid-century to unite the nations as
never before.
A forum was created – the United Nations – where all
nations could join forces to affirm the dignity and worth of
every person, and to secure peace and development for all
peoples. Here States could unite to strengthen the rule of law,
recognize and address the needs of the poor, restrain man’s
brutality and greed, conserve the resources and beauty of nature,
sustain the equal rights of men and women, and provide for
the safety of future generations.
We thus inherit from the 20th century the political, as well as
the scientific and technological power, which – if only we
have the will to use them – give us the chance to vanquish
poverty, ignorance and disease.
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. This will require us to look beyond the framework of
States, and beneath the surface of nations or communities. We
must focus, as never before, on improving the conditions of the
individual men and women who give the state or nation its
richness and character. We must begin with the young Afghan girl,
recognizing that saving that one life is to save humanity
itself.
Over the past five years, I have often recalled that the United
Nations' Charter begins with the words: "We the peoples." What is
not always recognized is that "we the peoples" are made up of
individuals whose claims to the most fundamental rights have too
often been sacrificed in the supposed interests of the state or
the nation.
A genocide begins with the killing of one man – not for
what he has done, but because of who he is. A campaign of 'ethnic
cleansing' begins with one neighbour turning on another. Poverty
begins when even one child is denied his or her fundamental right
to education. What begins with the failure to uphold the dignity
of one life, all too often ends with a calamity for entire
nations.
In this new century, we must start from the understanding that
peace belongs not only to states or peoples, but to each and
every member of those communities. The sovereignty of States must
no longer be used as a shield for gross violations of human
rights. Peace must be made real and tangible in the daily
existence of every individual in need. Peace must be sought,
above all, because it is the condition for every member of the
human family to live a life of dignity and security.
The rights of the individual are of no less importance to
immigrants and minorities in Europe and the Americas than to
women in Afghanistan or children in Africa. They are as
fundamental to the poor as to the rich; they are as necessary to
the security of the developed world as to that of the developing
world.
From this vision of the role of the United Nations in the next
century flow three key priorities for the future: eradicating
poverty, preventing conflict, and promoting democracy. Only in a
world that is rid of poverty can all men and women make the most
of their abilities. Only where individual rights are respected
can differences be channelled politically and resolved
peacefully. Only in a democratic environment, based on respect
for diversity and dialogue, can individual self-expression and
self-government be secured, and freedom of association be
upheld.
Throughout my term as Secretary-General, I have sought to place
human beings at the centre of everything we do – from
conflict prevention to development to human rights. Securing real
and lasting improvement in the lives of individual men and women
is the measure of all we do at the United Nations.
It is in this spirit that I humbly accept the Centennial Nobel
Peace Prize. Forty years ago today, the Prize for 1961 was
awarded for the first time to a Secretary-General of the United
Nations – posthumously, because Dag Hammarskjöld had
already given his life for peace in Central Africa. And on the
same day, the Prize for 1960 was awarded for the first time to an
African – Albert Luthuli, one of the earliest leaders of
the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. For me, as a
young African beginning his career in the United Nations a few
months later, those two men set a standard that I have sought to
follow throughout my working life.
This award belongs not just to me. I do not stand here alone. On
behalf of all my colleagues in every part of the United Nations,
in every corner of the globe, who have devoted their lives
– and in many instances risked or given their lives in the
cause of peace – I thank the Members of the Nobel Committee
for this high honour. My own path to service at the United
Nations was made possible by the sacrifice and commitment of my
family and many friends from all continents – some of whom
have passed away – who taught me and guided me. To them, I
offer my most profound gratitude.
In a world filled with weapons of war and all too often words of
war, the Nobel Committee has become a vital agent for peace.
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.
What it does have is the Nobel Prize – a statement of hope
and courage with unique resonance and authority. Only by
understanding and addressing the needs of individuals for peace,
for dignity, and for security can we at the United Nations hope
to live up to the honour conferred today, and fulfil the vision
of our founders. This is the broad mission of peace that United
Nations staff members carry out every day in every part of the
world.
A few of them, women and men, are with us in this hall today.
Among them, for instance, are a Military Observer from Senegal
who is helping to provide basic security in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo; a Civilian Police Adviser from the United
States who is helping to improve the rule of law in Kosovo; a
UNICEF Child Protection Officer from Ecuador who is helping to
secure the rights of Colombia's most vulnerable citizens; and a
World Food Programme Officer from China who is helping to feed
the people of North Korea.
Distinguished guests,
The idea that there is one people in possession of the truth, one
answer to the world’s ills, or one solution to
humanity’s needs, has done untold harm throughout history
– especially in the last century. Today, however, even
amidst continuing ethnic conflict around the world, there is a
growing understanding that human diversity is both the reality
that makes dialogue necessary, and the very basis for that
dialogue.
We understand, as never before, that each of us is fully worthy
of the respect and dignity essential to our common humanity. We
recognize that we are the products of many cultures, traditions
and memories; that mutual respect allows us to study and learn
from other cultures; and that we gain strength by combining the
foreign with the familiar.
In every great faith and tradition one can find the values of
tolerance and mutual understanding. The Qur’an, for
example, tells us that "We created you from a single pair of male
and female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may
know each other." Confucius urged his followers: "when the good
way prevails in the state, speak boldly and act boldly. When the
state has lost the way, act boldly and speak softly." In the
Jewish tradition, the injunction to "love thy neighbour as
thyself," is considered to be the very essence of the
Torah.
This thought is reflected in the Christian Gospel, which also
teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who wish to
persecute us. Hindus are taught that "truth is one, the sages
give it various names." And in the Buddhist tradition,
individuals are urged to act with compassion in every facet of
life.
Each of us has the right to take pride in our particular faith or
heritage. But the notion that what is ours is necessarily in
conflict with what is theirs is both false and dangerous. It has
resulted in endless enmity and conflict, leading men to commit
the greatest of crimes in the name of a higher power.
It need not be so. 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.
This will not be possible, however, without freedom of religion,
of expression, of assembly, and basic equality under the law.
Indeed, the lesson of the past century has been that where the
dignity of the individual has been trampled or threatened –
where citizens have not enjoyed the basic right to choose their
government, or the right to change it regularly – conflict
has too often followed, with innocent civilians paying the price,
in lives cut short and communities destroyed.
The obstacles to democracy have little to do with culture or
religion, and much more to do with the desire of those in power
to maintain their position at any cost. This is neither a new
phenomenon nor one confined to any particular part of the world.
People of all cultures value their freedom of choice, and feel
the need to have a say in decisions affecting their lives.
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. It is the nearest thing we have to a
representative institution that can address the interests of all
states, and all peoples. Through this universal, indispensable
instrument of human progress, States can serve the interests of
their citizens by recognizing common interests and pursuing them
in unity. No doubt, that is why the Nobel Committee says that it
"wishes, in its centenary year, to proclaim that the only
negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of
the United Nations".
I believe the Committee also recognized that this era of global
challenges leaves no choice but cooperation at the global level.
When States undermine the rule of law and violate the rights of
their individual citizens, they become a menace not only to their
own people, but also to their neighbours, and indeed the world.
What we need today is better governance – legitimate,
democratic governance that allows each individual to flourish,
and each State to thrive.
Your Majesties,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You will recall that I began my address with a reference to the
girl born in Afghanistan today. Even though her mother will do
all in her power to protect and sustain her, there is a
one-in-four risk that she will not live to see her fifth
birthday. Whether she does is just one test of our common
humanity – of our belief in our individual responsibility
for our fellow men and women. But it is the only test that
matters.
Remember this girl and then our larger aims – to fight
poverty, prevent conflict, or cure disease – will not seem
distant, or impossible. Indeed, those aims will seem very near,
and very achievable – as they should. Because beneath the
surface of states and nations, ideas and language, lies the fate
of individual human beings in need. Answering their needs will be
the mission of the United Nations in the century to come.
Thank you very much.
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