The Speech the UN Would Rather Forget: Kofi Annan on Israel and Double Standards

In December 2006, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered one of the most candid assessments ever heard from the world body about its handling of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Speaking with unusual clarity, he rejected the legitimacy of terrorism, condemned the double standards that single out Israel, and warned that endless one-sided resolutions only deepen distrust and achieve nothing for the Palestinians. Nearly two decades later, his words remain a powerful indictment of the very patterns that continue to dominate and subvert UN bodies.