Kofi Annan related content 

The international community has shown this year how mass atrocities can be averted. Good news not only sells less well than bad news, but also often seems harder to believe....

Mark Malloch-Brown delivers delightful anecdotes, but the juicy bits are missing. How can the “under-regulated hell” created by runaway globalisation be transformed into...

The five principles we should apply in considering the use of force. All the world hates a hypocrite. When states preach virtues they do not practice, or set lower hurdles...

The UN's secretary-general and the EU's foreign policy chief have similar predecessors, styles and priorities – and a common need to find a voice. If Catherine Ashton...

The past decade has demonstrated that, with international commitment, it is possible to reduce AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria substantially. Ten years ago, the world was...

Europe's last chance to be a credible actor in a multi-polar world rests on its ability to present a united, responsible voice. G8, G5, G20, G2, G3, and now the G14 (the G8...

Obstacles remain, but with goodwill and flexibility on both sides, the path to a settlement this year can be cleared. Hopes of reaching a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus...

Tassas Papadopoulos, a nay-sayer whose ‘No' proved to mean ‘No'. All politics is local, goes the old saying. No doubt it still is, but ‘local' is becoming a big place,...

Decentralised co-operation is now commonplace; donors should follow suit, by helping local governments. While G20 leaders were meeting in Washington to tackle the financial...

Finnish president garlanded for his role in trouble-spots ranging from Kosovo and Northern Ireland to Aceh. The former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari was today awarded...

Turkish Cypriot hopes that EU membership heralded a brighter economic future have proved unfounded. FAMAGUSTA, Cyprus | In normal circumstances, Orhan Dagli would be able...

The first day of talks centred on procedural issues. The president of the Republic of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat today...

Christofias says reunification talks at risk, warns of ‘unpleasant' developments. Cypriot President Demetris Christofias fears that the Turkish Cypriots could be forced to...

The world faces other, much more difficult challenges. I recently visited the north and the south of Cyprus and met Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, as well as...

On 21 March, the first  day of spring, the Greek Cypriot leader, Demetris Christofias, and I met for the first time since his election. He and I agreed to  start...

Policymakers are beginning to see biodiversity in the same light as climate change. For many people, biodiversity means ensuring that pandas or other similarly cute mammals...

When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg instituted one of America's most Draconian smoking bans in 2003, nicotine junkies at United Nations headquarters were enraged. Many...

Omar Bakhet, until the end of 2005 the UN director in Brussels, stands out from the crowd of top UN bureaucrats, usually with a grand university background, and an “in”...

In the plush surroundings of Brussels's Conrad hotel, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat looked alert and confident at the start of a three-day visit this week. But he...

On Monday 9 October the UN Security Council formally nominated South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon as the next secretary-general of the United Nations, to replace Kofi...