To understand my feelings — and my conception of the role of Secretary General — the nature of my religious and cultural background must first be understood. I should therefore like to outline not only my beliefs but also my conception of human institutions and of the human situation itself.

Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves.

Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love andcompassion would have built the defenses of peace.

The concept of peaceful coexistence has been criticized by many who do not see the need to make the world safe for diversity. I wonder if they have ever paused to ask themselves the question: What is the alternative to coexistence?

I don't like to be disturbed at home; I tell the cable office not to call me before 6:30 AM, unless there's a war.

The single most important impediment to global institutions is the concept of "my country, right or wrong".

As we watch the sun go down, evening after evening, through the smog across the poisoned waters of our native earth, we must ask ourselves seriously whether we really wish some future universal historian on another planet to say about us: "With all their genius and with all their skill, they ran out of foresight and air and food and water and ideas," or, They went on playing politics until their world collapsed around them.