Kofi Atta Annan · "We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin,..."

Speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, 2001 · Checked on 3 March 2026

We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.

Analysis

The quote aligns verbatim with the official transcript of Annan’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, delivered December 10, 2001, in Oslo. The phrasing—'different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race'—matches the published text on the Nobel Prize website and UN archives. No credible evidence contradicts the attribution or context.

Background

Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General, received the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the UN in 2001 for their 'work for a better organized and more peaceful world.' His lecture focused on human solidarity, multilateralism, and combating global inequality. The quote reflects his longstanding advocacy for unity amid cultural and biological diversity.

Verdict summary

Kofi Annan did make this statement in his 2001 Nobel Lecture, emphasizing global unity despite diversity.

Sources consulted

— Nobel Prize Official Website: *Nobel Lecture by Kofi Annan* (December 10, 2001) – [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/annan/lecture/](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/annan/lecture/)

— United Nations Archives: *Secretary-General’s Speeches* (2001) – [https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2001-12-10](https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2001-12-10) (archived)

— Annan, Kofi. *Interventions: A Life in War and Peace* (2012), Penguin Press – pp. 210–212 (discussing the Nobel Prize and his philosophical stance on human unity)