Kofi Annan Iraq Quotations

Iraq has a new opportunity to comply with all these relevant resolutions of the Security Council.

The question is the morning after. What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What impact could it have? These are questions leaders I have spoken to have posed.

Obviously some of the efforts are being made to improve the conditions of the Iraqi people and make sure that the sanctions do not harm them. But if Iraq were to turn off the taps, then we'll be in a very serious situation,

If Iraq were to break the agreement, it would be much easier to get an agreement in the council to take military action,

We submit to you our request for your involvement and your good office in the present circumstances to call upon the US authority and the present government of Iraq to review the legal status of the present court and to reallocate the present court outside Iraq, i.e. The Hague, Netherlands,

I think the important thing, ... is the council stood together and insisted Iraq rescind its decision before any other reviews can be undertaken.

We have very clear requirements and if Iraq were to honor them, I think an invitation could be considered,

Under the circumstances, it is difficult to envisage the United Nations operating with a large number of international staff inside Iraq in the near future unless there is an unexpected and significant improvement in the overall security situation,

We have a clear mandate from the Security Council to do whatever we can to work with the government and the people of Iraq to make sure Iraq takes charge of its own future and develops a stable peaceful society,

a new era of human rights in Iraq will now begin.

The need for reconciliation in Iraq is real. If we do not reconcile the parties in Iraq, elections alone are not going to resolve their problems,

I personally believe, as I think a lot of security Council members believe with 100% certainty, that Iraq being fully disarmed is never going to be possible. At the end of the day the Security Council must decide whether Iraq is disarmed to the exten

Iraq holds America and Australia fully responsible for such provocative acts that endanger civil marine navigation in the Arab Gulf,

For the crisis to be put permanently behind us, Iraq must move swiftly to ensure complete and unconditional compliance, ... This is the best way toward the lifting of (U.N. sanctions against Iraq) and a better life for the people of Iraq.

For people who went into Iraq with only the objective of assisting the people of Iraq to be killed in such a violent and senseless manner is something that none of us will ever comprehend,

The leadership of Iraq continues to defy mandatory resolutions adopted by the Security Council,

The invasion and occupation of Iraq is illegal.

I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without UN approval and much broader support from the international community.

The US-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN charter.