Farewell to Kofi Annan

Serving the interest of over 190 members countries and the well being of the world’s people was not easy. Kofi Annan, the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations, did this difficult job for ten years. He will soon leavehis job at the end of this month. Kofi has been my friend and colleague while working for the United Nations at its headquarters in New York for more than two decades, so I wish him well on his retirement. I admired him for his dedication to the work of the organization. He has been a patient and friendly man when dealing with friends or representative of member states. As a friend, I was proud when he was selected and appointed as the UN Secretary-General in 1996. For the last ten years he has successfully led the multi-faceted work of the United Nations dealing with peace, security, human rights gender equality, and development problems. The World has changed a lot from ten years ago which Kofi Annan tried to cope by setting in motion the work to revitalize the UN system from within, to make it a more effective organization. But we have to remember that he had to work closely with member states that have power to make decisions about policy matters and budget allocations. Many times in standing up to defend the UN Charter, he sometimes put himself on the opposite side of a super power, such as the United States, when he opposed the invasion of Iraq by calling it an illegal war according to international law. It is not easy to stand up for one’s principle. But Kofi Annan did it with such grace and gentleness even when he suffered the lost of his close friends and many UN colleagues who died when the UN Office in Iraq was bombed. We were lucky to have had him leading the United Nations in these difficult times. Kofi Annan deserves our respect for defending the United Nations Charter, sympathy for his personal sacrifice, having to endure attacks from people who supported the Bush policy on Iraq, and we have to thank him for a lifetime of dedication in the work to service the world community in peace and development.

Filed under United Nations, World Affairs |