In an opinion piece in British newspaper Sun, he expressed hope for positive changes in a world that faced a myriad of daunting challenges, ranging from poverty to global warming and terrorism.
Conceding that the world was not on track to meet all the Millennium Development Goal aimed at eliminating or drastically reducing several social and economic ills by 2015, Annan, however, feels encouraged by new initiatives to deal with debt relief, HIV/AIDS and undemocratic regimes.
'We risk a cascade of new countries and perhaps terrorists acquiring nuclear or biological weapons. Even
without this, terrorism continues to sow fear and suspicion between religions and races,' he said, adding, 'Everyday reports reach us of new laws broken and new heinous crimes inflicted on individuals and minority groups.'
Calling for a united international response, he said people needed to be bound together by something more than just a global market. 'The strong, as well as the weak, need to agree to be bound by the same rules. Nations need to come together, not at cross purposes but with a common purpose, to shape our common destiny,' he emphasised.
Looking back on his own efforts to move the world in this direction by working with the UNFs Member States, he wrote, 'We have pushed some big rocks to the top of the mountain, even if others have slipped from our grasp and rolled back.'
