United Nations Officials

"I’ve had situations where I had to choose between my pride and my coun­try."

"In the case of that man, I need to make him comfortable, to let him realize it’s not about his manhood but about an issue. Often when there’s a dispute, it’s about the person feeling challenged by a woman. Or maybe how we’re discussing it. I may need to go a bit lower, so that he has space to come up. Then I must make sure that when he’s starting to come up, I don’t let others pull him back down. If I make it a specific issue and the rest get on board, we all come up."

"I always pray to God that I never, ever think I’m indispensable, because that will be the beginning of my failing. I’m part of a team. Sure, important, but not indispensable."

"So however tough that man might be, he’s actually working to make me better. I see a lot of opportunity in that. On the other hand, there are so many other men around me who are out to help me, whom I may not see if I’m defensive. Ultimately, it’s about my attitude."

"If we proactively plan and lead cities to get us where we want, [urbanization] will be probably the most affordable tool to get us there."

"That singular act is now etched in history and it is a permanent reminder of the bonds of friendship which frame our long-standing relations."

"We are here to serve and to make a difference in the lives of our people that our two governments are very much committed to."

"You can never give love when you have never been loved."

"But you can be assured that the seeds of love transcend everything that will be challenging."

"We have made a choice to be different, so that our environment is in the best interest of the public and will not be corrupted by personal interests, so that what we do will stand the test of time."

"I wake up every day and ask God to give me the wisdom to help me create an environment that helps his people so they can do their best."

"You are graduating at a time of great opportunity when the implementation of the intra-African Trade is in full gear."

"With the fourth industrial revolution unwinding and the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that the future is digital and technology-driven."

"I’m glad you people are in the media and your work is to speak and write. We have a better connection to the people through you. People need to know and we need their full support."

"besides financing, there is the need for planning and the right technical expertise on the city level for sustainable urban development."

"Implementing the Master Plan is a process. First there has to be a common understanding in the community because we have stakeholders in the development of the city. The communities, politicians and the investment community all need to come on board."

"When you talk about the plan, the first question most investors ask is how easy it will be to access good roads, sewage system, electricity and water."

"Holding the title of Mayor is not enough; if you do not have the resources and capacities at local level, especially in urban governance."

"It’s only through inclusive growth that the city dwellers can do their best, otherwise they become passive recipients or even a cause of risk to development."

"A recent study by the World Bank indicated that if urbanization is unplanned, we leave it to go the way it is, and we come to correct it, often it’s not less than nine times the cost financially of doing it proactively. And that’s even without the political and social complications of trying to reorganize a chaotically-settled urbanization process."

"In our quest to address the issue of urban poverty by giving aid, we have not adequately tapped in to the potential existing even in informal settlements."

"we chose to unite, reconcile and rebuild our nation with a common vision and strive to think big"

"the process of building a sustainable city can also be used as a tool to create employment"

"Many of the properties in World Heritage List are under threat and the list is underrepresented. This requires us to strengthen global efforts in heritage protection and I think China can play an important role in this regard."

"Boris Bondarev is a hero."

"Putin has failed in his bid to conquer Ukraine, an initiative that he might have understood would be impossible if his government had been designed to give honest assessments."

"The invasion of Ukraine made it impossible to deny just how brutal and repressive Russia had become. It was an unspeakable act of cruelty, designed to subjugate a neighbor and erase its ethnic identity. It gave Moscow an excuse to crush any domestic opposition. Now, the government is sending thousands upon thousands of drafted men to go kill Ukrainians. The war shows that Russia is no longer just dictatorial and aggressive; it has become a fascist state."

"For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 this year. The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire Western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospect for a prosperous free society in our country."

"I am because we are, and because we are, you are.”"

"I believe that our potential should not be limited by where we are born or our dreams diminished by our circumstances. This is the world I am working to create through my work with the United Nations, which hopefully, in turn, inspires other young girls to dream bigger. My mission is…To uplift others."

"As the lights of the city glittered around me, I took a deep breath, thought of my gogo (grandmother) and my mother and all the powerful Africans I knew and know, and reminded myself: I am a girl from Africa."

"That night my activism found a new target: to bring to the world a new understanding of the modern African continent — its youthful potential; its beauty, and most of all, the powerful African philosophy of ubuntu, which sheds light on what it means to be human, and how we can better treat each other for the betterment of us all."

"My decision to work at the UN was driven by my need to uplift the lives of others the way I had been uplifted. When I moved to the UK, the images of Africa I saw on television did not align with my lived experience. I was galvanised to combat these entrenched misperceptions of the place where I was born and raised, the place I am proud to claim as my continent of origin."

"I am only alive because of a simple bowl of porridge from the United Nations that saved my life when I came close to dying from hunger as a child – so the Zero Hunger agenda is truly personal to me, hunger remains the leading cause of death in the world, and I am determined to play my part in ensuring that we reach every child and family in need -- especially on my own continent of Africa."

"There are a lot of things it’s hard to do by yourself. Play tennis, for example. Or ride a tandem bike. Or end gender inequality. “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go strong, go together."

"Well I knew I couldn’t give up. I held this strong conviction, and still do, on so many levels, that my life must have been saved for a reason all those years ago. I also knew that my desire to create change in the world was inextricably linked to the dreams and the hopes that I had for my own family, community and continent. So I knew that I had to be part of the solution in trying to create a better world and make a difference to the lives of others. And so I persevered against all odds."

"Nyamayaro holds a noble goal for the future of humanity: to end gender inequality for good."

"Elizabeth Nyamayaro, an advocate for women’s rights and economic development, is the driving force behind the HeForShe campaign, a UN Women’s initiative and global solidarity movement that seeks to engage men as advocates for gender equality. Nyamayaro grew up in rural Zimbabwe where she met a UNICEF aid worker who altered the course of her life – she has since become the senior advisor to the Executive Director of UN Women, worked at the forefront of Africa’s development agenda for more than a decade, worked with UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank, and founded Africa IQ, a social impact organization promoting Africa’s sustainable economic growth and development."

"Time and again Elizabeth has proven her unique ability to focus public attention and trigger stakeholder action for the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Corinne Woods, UNWFP Director of Communications, Advocacy and Marketing. “WFP is honored to add her voice and experience to our own, amplifying the plight of the 690 million people around the world who don’t know where their next meal is coming from."

"“Our potential should not be limited by where we are born, nor our dreams be diminished by our current circumstances.”"

"Thank you for acknowledging our work of using food to combat hunger, to mitigate against destabilization of nations, to prevent mass migration, to end conflict and to create stability and peace. We believe food is the pathway to peace. I wish today that I could speak of how, working together, we could end hunger for all the 690 million people who go to bed hungry every night, but today we have a crisis at hand. This Nobel Peace Prize is more than a thank you; it is a call to action."

"The United Nations today announced the appointment of David Beasley of the United States as the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which delivers emergency food assistance around the world and works with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. In a statement, Secretary-General Guterres said that Mr. Beasley “brings to the position extensive experience with key governmental and business leaders and stakeholders around the world, with very strong resource mobilisation skills.” Mr. Beasley, who is the Chair of the Center for Global Strategies, was Governor of the state of South Carolina from 1995 to 1999. He will replace Ertharin Cousin, also a US national, whose five-year term expires on 4 April."

"The latest fighting in Yemen has exacerbated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis — where the United Nations warns about 80% of Yemen’s 30 million residents are in need of assistance. World Food Programme director David Beasley said Friday that Yemen tops the list of nations at risk of famine due to war, disease and the climate crisis... Beasley predicts a record 235 million people around the world will need humanitarian aid next year — a 40% increase from 2020. The World Food Programme will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, International Human Rights Day."

"It’s heartbreaking. For the past three years, we’re going backward for the first time in a long time. We’ve calculated that pre-COVID, about 60% of the increase in world hunger was conflict-driven. About 80% of the WFP’s expenditure is in conflict zones. On top of that, in certain locations, there were climate extremes: some cyclones, but primarily droughts and flooding. Thirdly, it was due to general governance issues. In my opinion, even with climate extremes, we can end world hunger. But it’s just not doable without the wars being ended."

"This is a very apt recognition for the organization. However, I think that executive director Beasley will also agree that the best circumstance would be that there be no need for an organization like the World Food Programme. What it is doing is heroic because it’s essentially delivering emergency food to populations that have no recourse. But we really need to be asking ourselves: How is it that in the 21st century, when the planet as a whole is producing almost half, again, as much in terms of calories that we need to feed everyone, that there are some people that are in such dire circumstances as he described? So, we must always do that work. We must support that work. We must congratulate the people that devote their lives to do that. But I think a more important calling is actually to prevent the incidence of hunger on the planet, which is entirely doable."

"The WFP reflects the best in humanity and the worst. It exists because many of us care and it exists because many of us do not. Sadly, most hunger today is a self-inflicted wound. Six out of 10 of the world’s hungry live in countries at war with themselves – more than 400 million people... Hunger in Yemen is complex – fighting still rages and donor confidence is ebbing, while food prices are up 140%... Millions are food insecure and famine-like conditions have begun to appear. It is, simply put, a country in chaos. But we have brought Yemen back from the brink before... Coping with the bitter politics in Yemen will surely test us. But if we are determined, we can succeed again. We cannot let hunger simply fade into the background in the age of Covid-19. My dream for today is that all the feeding tubes in Yemen will suddenly vanish and those tiny children will go home smiling in the arms of the mothers. What is happening in Yemen now is a shame. We all share that shame and we need to end it together."

"I have done the usual things you do before an awards ceremony. After extensive high-level consultation, I think I now have the right suit and tie. Carefully folded in my pocket is a long list of people to praise, many far more deserving of praise than I. I am ready. Growing up in a small South Carolina town, I never imagined life would bring me to this moment and allow me to be part of the wonderful, blessed enterprise I have found in WFP, the World Food Programme. I feel pride today, but also a sense of shame I cannot seem to shake. There is failure in this victory. We are having our media moment while hunger still rages. I know that just as WFP receives this coveted award, in a nameless village in Yemen, a skeletal child will be hovering close to death, hooked to a feeding tube. You have, no doubt, seen these children in fleeting images on your television screens. Well, let me tell you those images don’t come close to the reality. I have met these frail Yemeni children, most often in hot and dusty clinics filled with flies. The mothers usually give up on shooing the flies away and sit quietly by their sides. When you enter the room they pray you are the western miracle that has come to save their child. You know you’re not and you could not be more uncomfortable."

"What tears me up inside is this. This coming year, millions and millions and millions of my equals, my neighbors, your neighbors, are marching to the brink of starvation. We stand at what may be the most ironic moment in modern history. On the one hand, after a century of massive strides in eliminating extreme poverty, today those 200 million of our neighbors are on the brink of starvation. That’s more than the entire population of Western Europe. On the other hand, there is $400 trillion of wealth in our world today. Even at the height of the COVID pandemic, in just 90 days, an additional [$2.7] trillion of wealth was created. And we only need $5 billion to save 30 million lives from famine. What am I missing here?... I don’t go to bed at night thinking about the children we saved; I go to bed weeping over the children we could not save. And when we don’t have enough money nor the access we need, we have to decide which children eat and which children do not eat, which children live, which children die. How would you like that job? Please, don’t ask us to choose who lives and who dies. In the spirit of Alfred Nobel, as inscribed on this medal, “peace and brotherhood,” let’s feed them all. Food is the pathway to peace."

"Because of so many wars, climate change, the widespread use of hunger as a political and military weapon, and a global health pandemic that makes all of that exponentially worse, 270 million people are marching toward starvation. Failure to address their needs will cause a hunger pandemic which will dwarf the impact of COVID. And if that’s not bad enough, out of that 270 million, 30 million depend on us 100% for their survival. How will humanity respond?"

"Bezos and Musk now own more wealth than the bottom 40%. Meanwhile, we're looking at more hunger in America than at any time in decades...If he was with us this morning, I would ask him the following question ... Mr. Bezos, you are worth $182 billion — that's a B. One hundred eighty-two billion dollars, you're the wealthiest person in the world. Why are you doing everything in your power to stop your workers in Bessemer, Alabama, from joining a union?... Jeff Bezos has become $77 billion richer during this horrific pandemic, while denying hundreds of thousands of workers who work at Amazon paid sick leave."