By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This quote from Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish statesman as well as an author, orator, political theorist and philosopher, was one of late Kofi Annan's favourites, his son Kojo told the UN General Assembly on September 21 as it paid warm tributes to the former Secretary-General who died on August 18 at the age of 80.
It was more than a quote. It was his code. My father's race has ended, but the work continues. He believed this was the only work worth doing, creating a world where everyone can find home."
By UN News
NEW YORK (IDN) – In yet another move to honour the contribution of late Kofi Annan to the United Nations as Secretary-General from 1997 to 2005, who died at the age of 80 on August 18, UN News carried an article on September 20, saying that he "championed everything from stronger human rights and peacekeeping operations around the world, to revitalizing the UN itself by insisting on creating a new dynamic deputy chief role, an effective ethics office and the mantra of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation."
By Roberto Savio
The writer is publisher of Other News, an eminent proponent of "information that markets eliminate" and founder of IPS-Inter Press Service News Agency. This article is being reproduced courtesy of Other News with the writer's permission. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and his articles and comments can be read on Facebook @robertosavioutopia
ROME (IDN) – This testimony to Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General, comes a month after his death. Much has already been written, and it is now superfluous to recall his efforts for peace and international cooperation. It is better to place his figure in a crucial context: how the great powers progressively reduced the figure of the UN Secretary-General and charged a high price from those who tried to keep the system’s independence.
By Shashi Tharoor
Those who worked with him and those whose lives he touched knew the former United Nations Secretary-General possessed a rare ingredient not always found in successful men – he was a wonderful human being, writes Shashi Tharoor, former UN Under-Secretary-General under Kofi Annan, currently a Member of Parliament in India. This article first appeared on South China Morning Post on August 23, 2018 and is being republished with a view to disseminating more widely the impressions and views of one of Annan's close confidantes. Read the original here.
By Shanta Roy
NEW YORK (IDN) – Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the first from sub-Saharan Africa, was the only UN chief who rose from the mid-level ranks of the professional staff to the 38th floor of the Secretariat.
At a wreath-laying ceremony in the UN precincts on August 21, Secretary-General António Guterres said "because of Annan's long and varied career in different offices and departments, it sometimes seemed as though Kofi knew everyone personally."
"But even staff members who never met him felt a bond with Kofi, because he was really one of us. In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations," he declared.
By António Guterres
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, at the wreath-laying for Kofi Annan at United Nations Headquarters, in New York on August 22, 2018. Read also Kofi Annan: A Life of Service to People Across the World. – The Editor
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – We are here to pay tribute to Kofi Annan, one of the best of us, a man who embodied United Nations values and made us all proud to call ourselves his colleagues. This is a personal loss for many of us. It is difficult to imagine what a blow it must be to his wife and to his family. Our hearts go out to them.
We know how much Kofi meant to the world. I would like to say a few words about what he meant to all of us who work for the United Nations. Kofi Annan’s years in office were an exciting time.
By The Elders
LONDON (IDN-INPS) – The Elders today urged Zimbabweans at every level in society to uphold the democratic rights to justice and peaceful protest, and refrain from words or actions that could incite violence, drawing on the counsel of their late Chair, Kofi Annan (1938-2018).
Ahead of the ruling by Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court on the petition filed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance regarding the 30 July election result, The Elders called on political leaders to act responsibly to avert further bloodshed.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.