Lakhdar Brahimi Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“In Rwanda that genocide happened because the international community and the Security Council refused to give, again, another 5000 troops which would have cost, I don't know, maybe fifty, a hundred, million dollars.”

“There is an expression now that is commonly used about these so-called internal conflicts which are not really internal, because they have connections to the outside world.”

“Of course the UN brings in a lot of moral authority.”

“When you go from one place to another, you go with experience, you don't go with prescriptions.”

“There is a story which is not being told strongly enough of the Afghan employees of the UN inside the country who are saving hundreds of thousands of lives everyday by their bravery and nobody talks of them.”

“Iraq is a country that has been invaded. It's not a failing state that you want to help. It's a country that was functioning good or bad, with a horrible dictator, but you have invaded.”

“So, the international community are all the countries that are important: the United States definitely everywhere; the European Union because it is very important, and also, they do show a great deal of international responsibility; and then the local players.”

“What again I tell my people is that no matter how much you know, it's never enough. You will always discover, after the fact, that you've missed something.”

“You are dealing with people who have taken the responsibility of killing their own because they think that they are right, they think that they are serving the interests of their people. They not going to give that up easily, just because you've shown up.”

“I think a failed state is the responsibility of the people who have made that state fail, and those are generally the people of that country.”