Having worked my way from the bottom of the ladder to the top [of the UN] certainly helped me navigate that complexity, both political and bureaucratic.

Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential than ever in a world where peoples are becoming more and more closely interconnected.

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

More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations.

My own advice to people who would be in office for two or three terms is that they must accept democratic rotation. Ideally not put themselves up for re-election and allow the system to work.

Insecurity is love dressed in a child's clothing.

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.