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Unedited
text of Annan retirement speech, Dec. 11, 2006.
In short, human rights and the rule of law are vital to global security and prosperity. As Truman said, "We must, once and for all, prove by our acts conclusively that Right Has Might." That's why this country has historically been in the vanguard of the global human rights movement. But that lead can only be maintained if America remains true to its principles, including in the struggle against terrorism. When it appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused.
And states need to play by the rules towards each other, as well
as
towards their own citizens. That can sometimes be inconvenient, but
ultimately what matters is not inconvenience. It is doing the right
thing. No state can make its own actions legitimate in the eyes of
others. When power, especially military force, is used, the world will
consider it legitimate only when convinced that it is being used for the
right purpose for broadly shared aims in accordance with broadly
accepted norms.
No community anywhere suffers from too much rule of law; many do
suffer from too little and the international community is among them.
This we must change.
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.
As Harry Truman
said, "We all have to recognize, no matter how great our strength, that
we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we
please."
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CNN's
edited and editorialized version of the same passage. (original portions of text
colour coded;
"As [Harry] Truman said, 'We must, once and for all, prove by our acts conclusively that right has might.' That's why this country has historically been in the vanguard of the global human rights movement," Annan said. "But that lead can only be maintained if America remains true to its principles, including in the struggle against terrorism. When it appears to abandon its own ideas and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused." Annan's successor, South Korean Ban Ki-Moon, will take office on January 1. Strain with Bush administration over Iraq Annan on Monday admonished the United States to use its global supremacy judiciously, saying, "The U.S. 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. "As Harry Truman said, 'We all have to recognize, no matter how great our strength, that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please.' States need to play by the rules toward each other as well as toward their own citizens. "When power, especially military force, is used, the world will consider it legitimate only when convinced that it is being used for the right purpose, for broadly shared aims, in accordance with broadly accepted norms. "No community anywhere suffers from too much rule of law; many do suffer from too little and the international community is among them," he added. "This we must change." |