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.

Young people - with their dynamism, their energy and their inherent understanding of our interconnected world - have much to teach us. Increased educational attainment, advances in technology and the spread of information have made this generation the best educated, most connected and most informed in history

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.

Normally when people resign they will organise their champagne farewell parties... and then they resurface somewhere.

You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done.

There is no development strategy more beneficial to society as a whole - women and men alike - than the one which involves women as central players.

I think we can make a difference in the lives of the poor, and the millions.