In his final American speech as the leader of the United Nations, Secretary General Kofi Annan spoke in Missouri yesterday at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence.
“The US has given the world an example of a democracy in which everyone, including the most powerful, is subject to legal restraint. Its current moment of world supremacy gives it a priceless opportunity to entrench the same principles at the global level,” said Annan.
“As Harry Truman said, ‘We all have to recognise, no matter how great our strength, that we must deny ourselves the licence to do always as we please.’”
Annan often referred to Truman, who some call the father of the U.N., in his speech.
“The Security Council is not just another stage on which to act out national interests. It is the management committee, if you will, of our fledgling collective security system.
As President Truman said, ‘The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world.’
He showed what can be achieved when the US assumes that responsibility. And still today, none of our global institutions can accomplish much when the US remains aloof. But when it is fully engaged, the sky is the limit.”
Click here to read the full speech.
December 12th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
Annan is correct to cite Truman as he wanted to give control of nuclear weapons to a supranational UN. This was called the Baruch Plan and would have prevented the Cold War thus saving billions of dollars.
The United Nations is a crucial body yet it currently is dominated by the security council, thus a pro-western agenda. The UN need to be more of a democratic supranational body in which even western nations come under criticism and restraint. Collective Security does not work when only the top few hold any weight. The General Assembly needs more of a voice.