Annan praises lofty UN ideals as US Congress unearths new alleged corruption

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2005

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan praised the lofty principles that led to the formation of much-criticized world body, as the US Congress prepared the latest in its ongoing investigations into alleged UN corruption.

Annan made his remarks likening the UN's founding ideals to those of the United States at a graduation ceremony at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received an honorary degree and delivered the commencement address.

"The United States of America is not just a country -- it is an idea. It is the idea described in the Declaration of Independence, which Benjamin Franklin and others signed here in Philadelphia -- that all human beings are created equal, and have inalienable rights," Annan said, according to a...