The passive acceptance of others’ peculiarities is not enough, stresses Kofi Annan. Diversity has forever characterized the human condition. Yet, mankind’s acceptance of it has been painfully lacking. This intolerance of the “other” remains a source of great and everyday
human suffering. If we hope to achieve peace in our young century, we must start respecting each other today -- as individuals who each have the right to define our own identity, and belong to the faith or culture of our choice; as individuals who know that we can cherish what we are, without hating what we are not.