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The Nobel Peace Prize for 2001
The Nobel Lecture given by The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
2001, Kofi A. Annan (Oslo, December 10, 2001)
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, 2001.
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies,
Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
Today, in Afghanistan, a girl will be born. Her mother will
hold her and feed her, comfort her and care for her - just as
any mother would anywhere in the world. In these most basic
acts of human nature, humanity knows no divisions. But to be
born a girl in today's Afghanistan is to begin life centuries
away from the prosperity that one small part of humanity has
achieved. It is to live under conditions that many of us in
this hall would consider inhuman.
I speak of a girl in Afghanistan, but I might equally well
have mentioned a baby boy or girl in Sierra Leone. No one
today is unaware of this divide between the world's rich and
poor. No one today can claim ignorance of the cost that this
divide imposes on the poor and dispossessed who are no less
deserving of human dignity, fundamental freedoms, security,
food and education than any of us. The cost, however, is not
borne by them alone. Ultimately, it is borne by all of us -
North and South, rich and poor, men and women of all races and
religions.
Today's real borders are not between nations, but between
powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and
humiliated. Today, no walls can separate humanitarian or human
rights crises in one part of the world from national security
crises in another.
Scientists tell us that the world of nature is so small and
interdependent that a butterfly flapping its wings in the
Amazon rainforest can generate a violent storm on the other
side of the earth. This principle is known as the “Butterfly
Effect.” Today, we realize, perhaps more than ever, that the
world of human activity also has its own “Butterfly
Effect” -- for better or for worse.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have entered the third millennium through a gate of fire.
If today, after the horror of 11 September, we see better, and
we see further - we will realize that humanity is indivisible.
New threats make no distinction between races, nations or
regions. A new insecurity has entered every mind, regardless
of wealth or status. A deeper awareness of the bonds that bind
us all - in pain as in prosperity - has gripped young and old.
In the early beginnings of the 21st century - a century
already violently disabused of any hopes that progress towards
global peace and prosperity is inevitable -- this new reality
can no longer be ignored. It must be confronted.
The 20th century was perhaps the deadliest in human history,
devastated by innumerable conflicts, untold suffering, and
unimaginable crimes. Time after time, a group or a nation
inflicted extreme violence on another, often driven by
irrational hatred and suspicion, or unbounded arrogance and
thirst for power and resources. In response to these
cataclysms, the leaders of the world came together at
mid-century to unite the nations as never before.
A forum was created - the United Nations -- where all nations
could join forces to affirm the dignity and worth of every
person, and to secure peace and development for all peoples.
Here States could unite to strengthen the rule of law,
recognize and address the needs of the poor, restrain man's
brutality and greed, conserve the resources and beauty of
nature, sustain the equal rights of men and women, and provide
for the safety of future generations.
We thus inherit from the 20th century the political, as well
as the scientific and technological power, which -- if only we
have the will to use them -- give us the chance to vanquish
poverty, ignorance and disease.
In the 21st Century I believe the mission of the United
Nations will be defined by a new, more profound, awareness of
the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of
race or religion. This will require us to look beyond the
framework of States, and beneath the surface of nations or
communities. We must focus, as never before, on improving the
conditions of the individual men and women who give the state
or nation its richness and character. We must begin with the
young Afghan girl, recognizing that saving that one life is to
save humanity itself.
Over the past five years, I have often recalled that the
United Nations' Charter begins with the words: “We the
peoples.” What is not always recognized is that “we the
peoples” are made up of individuals whose claims to the most
fundamental rights have too often been sacrificed in the
supposed interests of the state or the nation.
A genocide begins with the killing of one man -- not for what
he has done, but because of who he is. A campaign of 'ethnic
cleansing' begins with one neighbour turning on another.
Poverty begins when even one child is denied his or her
fundamental right to education. What begins with the failure
to uphold the dignity of one life, all too often ends with a
calamity for entire nations.
In this new century, we must start from the understanding that
peace belongs not only to states or peoples, but to each and
every member of those communities. The sovereignty of States
must no longer be used as a shield for gross violations of
human rights. Peace must be made real and tangible in the
daily existence of every individual in need. Peace must be
sought, above all, because it is the condition for every
member of the human family to live a life of dignity and
security.
The rights of the individual are of no less importance to
immigrants and minorities in Europe and the Americas than to
women in Afghanistan or children in Africa. They are as
fundamental to the poor as to the rich; they are as necessary
to the security of the developed world as to that of the
developing world.
From this vision of the role of the United Nations in the next
century flow three key priorities for the future: eradicating
poverty, preventing conflict, and promoting democracy. Only in
a world that is rid of poverty can all men and women make the
most of their abilities. Only where individual rights are
respected can differences be channelled politically and
resolved peacefully. Only in a democratic environment, based
on respect for diversity and dialogue, can individual
self-expression and self-government be secured, and freedom of
association be upheld.
Throughout my term as Secretary-General, I have sought to
place human beings at the centre of everything we do - from
conflict prevention to development to human rights. Securing
real and lasting improvement in the lives of individual men
and women is the measure of all we do at the United Nations.
It is in this spirit that I humbly accept the Centennial Nobel
Peace Prize. Forty years ago today, the Prize for 1961 was
awarded for the first time to a Secretary-General of the
United Nations - posthumously, because Dag Hammarskjöld had
already given his life for peace in Central Africa. And on the
same day, the Prize for 1960 was awarded for the first time to
an African - Albert Luthuli, one of the earliest leaders of
the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. For me, as a
young African beginning his career in the United Nations a few
months later, those two men set a standard that I have sought
to follow throughout my working life.
This award belongs not just to me. I do not stand here alone.
On behalf of all my colleagues in every part of the United
Nations, in every corner of the globe, who have devoted their
lives - and in many instances risked or given their lives in
the cause of peace -- I thank the Members of the Nobel
Committee for this high honour. My own path to service at the
United Nations was made possible by the sacrifice and
commitment of my family and many friends from all continents -
some of whom have passed away -- who taught me and guided me.
To them, I offer my most profound gratitude.
In a world filled with weapons of war and all too often words
of war, the Nobel Committee has become a vital agent for
peace. Sadly, a prize for peace is a rarity in this world.
Most nations have monuments or memorials to war, bronze
salutations to heroic battles, archways of triumph. But peace
has no parade, no pantheon of victory.
What it does have is the Nobel Prize - a statement of hope and
courage with unique resonance and authority. Only by
understanding and addressing the needs of individuals for
peace, for dignity, and for security can we at the United
Nations hope to live up to the honour conferred today, and
fulfil the vision of our founders. This is the broad mission
of peace that United Nations staff members carry out every day
in every part of the world.
A few of them, women and men, are with us in this hall today.
Among them, for instance, are a Military Observer from Senegal
who is helping to provide basic security in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo; a Civilian Police Adviser from the
United States who is helping to improve the rule of law in
Kosovo; a UNICEF Child Protection Officer from Ecuador who is
helping to secure the rights of Colombia's most vulnerable
citizens; and a World Food Programme Officer from China who is
helping to feed the people of North Korea.
Distinguished guests,
The idea that there is one people in possession of the truth,
one answer to the world's ills, or one solution to humanity's
needs, has done untold harm throughout history --- especially
in the last century. Today, however, even amidst continuing
ethnic conflict around the world, there is a growing
understanding that human diversity is both the reality that
makes dialogue necessary, and the very basis for that
dialogue.
We understand, as never before, that each of us is fully
worthy of the respect and dignity essential to our common
humanity. We recognize that we are the products of many
cultures, traditions and memories; that mutual respect allows
us to study and learn from other cultures; and that we gain
strength by combining the foreign with the familiar.
In every great faith and tradition one can find the values of
tolerance and mutual understanding. The Qur'an, for example,
tells us that “We created you from a single pair of male and
female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know
each other.” Confucius urged his followers: “when the good
way prevails in the state, speak boldly and act boldly. When
the state has lost the way, act boldly and speak softly.” In
the Jewish tradition, the injunction to “love thy neighbour
as thyself,” is considered to be the very essence of the
Torah.
This thought is reflected in the Christian Gospel, which also
teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who wish to
persecute us. Hindus are taught that “truth is one, the
sages give it various names.” And in the Buddhist tradition,
individuals are urged to act with compassion in every facet of
life.
Each of us has the right to take pride in our particular faith
or heritage. But the notion that what is ours is necessarily
in conflict with what is theirs is both false and dangerous.
It has resulted in endless enmity and conflict, leading men to
commit the greatest of crimes in the name of a higher power.
It need not be so. 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.
This will not be possible, however, without freedom of
religion, of expression, of assembly, and basic equality under
the law. Indeed, the lesson of the past century has been that
where the dignity of the individual has been trampled or
threatened - where citizens have not enjoyed the basic right
to choose their government, or the right to change it
regularly - conflict has too often followed, with innocent
civilians paying the price, in lives cut short and communities
destroyed.
The obstacles to democracy have little to do with culture or
religion, and much more to do with the desire of those in
power to maintain their position at any cost. This is neither
a new phenomenon nor one confined to any particular part of
the world. People of all cultures value their freedom of
choice, and feel the need to have a say in decisions affecting
their lives.
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. It is the nearest thing we have to
a representative institution that can address the interests of
all states, and all peoples. Through this universal,
indispensable instrument of human progress, States can serve
the interests of their citizens by recognizing common
interests and pursuing them in unity. No doubt, that is why
the Nobel Committee says that it “wishes, in its centenary
year, to proclaim that the only negotiable route to global
peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations”.
I believe the Committee also recognized that this era of
global challenges leaves no choice but cooperation at the
global level. When States undermine the rule of law and
violate the rights of their individual citizens, they become a
menace not only to their own people, but also to their
neighbours, and indeed the world. What we need today is better
governance - legitimate, democratic governance that allows
each individual to flourish, and each State to thrive.
Your Majesties,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You will recall that I began my address with a reference to
the girl born in Afghanistan today. Even though her mother
will do all in her power to protect and sustain her, there is
a one-in-four risk that she will not live to see her fifth
birthday. Whether she does is just one test of our common
humanity - of our belief in our individual responsibility for
our fellow men and women. But it is the only test that
matters.
Remember this girl and then our larger aims - to fight
poverty, prevent conflict, or cure disease - will not seem
distant, or impossible. Indeed, those aims will seem very
near, and very achievable -- as they should. Because beneath
the surface of states and nations, ideas and language, lies
the fate of individual human beings in need. Answering their
needs will be the mission of the United Nations in the century
to come.
Thank you very much.
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