Achieving the MDGs is not optional; it is an essential investment in a safer, more human and prosperous world

Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories.

Elections with integrity are a challenge everywhere, including in the West.

Sometimes in peacekeeping operations you show force in order not to use force - people realise that there's a pushback and there's a solid force there that's not going to be pushed around, that sometimes helps.

The future of peace and prosperity that we seek for all the world's peoples needs a foundation of tolerance, security, equality and justice. That foundation is the family. It is only by protecting families, from famine as well as from fragmentation, that they can prosper and contribute to the family of nations that is the United Nations.

Insecurity is love dressed in a child's clothing.

My intimate knowledge of the [UN] system allowed me to get things done despite the many obstacles.