International law now grants rights to all human beings, not only to citizens.

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.

In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda.

It is my aspiration that health finally will be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for.

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

Any society that does not succeed in tapping into the energy and creativity of its youth will be left behind.

Nuclear terrorism is still often treated as science fiction. I wish it were. But unfortunately we live in a world of excess hazardous materials and abundant technological know-how, in which some terrorists clearly state their intention to inflict catastrophic casualties. Were such an attack to occur, it would not only cause widespread death and destruction, but would stagger the world economy... [creating] a second death toll throughout the developing world.