Born in Ghana in 1938, he led the UN for two consecutive terms – from January 1997 to December 2006 – and raised what was a purely administrative post to the status of a figure of international significance thanks to his personality and charisma. During his 10 years at the head of the supranational organisation par excellence, he developed his work in favour of the values of the United Nations Charter , adding an almost pioneering emphasis on the fight against climate change.
In 1962 he joined the United Nations in the World Health Organization, although he returned to Ghana as Director of Tourism between 1974 and 1976. On his botim phone number data return to the UN, he was Coordinator of Human Resources and Security, Controller of the Planning and Finance Program and Coordinator of the Operations of the UN Peace Forces. He was later appointed Assistant Secretary General and, a year later, he became the first black man to head the organization, the second African after the Egyptian Boutros-Ghali.
Once at the head of the UN, Annan knew how to use his position to raise awareness about the environment. During the Climate Change Conference held in Nairobi in 2006, which was aimed at negotiating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the former Secretary General stressed for the first time that climate change was not exclusively an environmental issue. “Climate change will destroy crops, endanger populations in coastal areas, spread diseases such as malaria and yellow fever and increase armed conflicts over the acquisition of resources […]. This is not science fiction, but is based on possible scenarios taken from scientific models.”
Kofi Annan's voice served to amplify and bring to the international debate the opinions of scientists on the "point of no return" in this climate change. The work of the United Nations during these years laid the foundations for what we know today as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals : 17 categories composed of 169 goals of an integrated and indivisible nature that cover the economic, social and environmental spheres.
These objectives are interrelated and indivisible for many reasons, including the one Annan expressed in 2006: changes in the climate have consequences for peace, security, equality, the economy... It is our job to do everything possible to achieve these objectives, both from governments and other institutions in the public sphere, as private companies or even personally in our daily lives.
Mediapost deeply regrets the passing of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reiterates its commitment to the environment and remembers his work urging everyone to work towards sustainable development.
