On this International Day of Peace, let us all honor those who have suffered from violence. Let us hold in our hearts the ideal of peace.

Human beings are not property. On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us redouble our efforts so that the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 'no one shall be held in slavery or servitude' - ring true.

We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.

Can the state, which represents the whole of society and has the duty of protecting society, fulfill that duty by lowering itself to the level of the murderer, and treating him as he treated others? The forfeiture of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict it on another, even when backed by legal process.

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

If we are to make poverty history, we must have the active participation of States, civil society and the private sector, as well as individual volunteers.

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.