Video: Annan holds last press conference at UN: Iraq war is worst moment in tenure

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan smiles during his final press conference at the United Nations in New York, Dec. 19, 2006. (Xinhua Photo/Zhao Peng) Photo Gallery >>>

    UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that the failure to stop the Iraq war was the worst moment of his 10 years in office.

    "I think the worst moment was the Iraq war which as an organization we couldn't stop and I really did everything I can to try to see if we could stop it," he said at his last press conference when asked about his top achievements and worst moments in his tenure.

    Among the achievements, he cited the UN's human rights efforts,the war against inequality both between and within states and the battle for development as epitomized by the Millennium Development Goals that seek to slash a host of social ills, such as extreme hunger and poverty, infant and maternal mortality and lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015.

    He pleaded that the UN not be judged by the Iraq oil-for-food scandal but by its myriad humanitarian and development actions.

    "I think that when historians look at the records they will draw the conclusion that, yes, there was mismanagement and there may have been several UN staff members engaged but the scandal, if any, was in the capitals and with the 2,200 companies that made a deal with Saddam behind our backs and of course I hope the historians will realize that the UN is more than oil-for-food," he said.

    "The UN is a UN that coordinates tsunami (relief for the Indian Ocean disaster of 2004), a UN that deals with the Kashmir earthquake (of 2005), a UN that is pushing for equality and fighting to implement the Millennium Development Goals, a UN that is fighting for human dignity and the rights of others and all the other aspects," he added.

    "That was a very special program, the oil-for-food we were asked to implement. So please don't generalize from the particular," he said.

    Beyond the Iraq War and oil-for-food, Annan mentioned the bombing of the UN's Baghdad headquarters in 2003 that killed 22 people, including the top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

    "They were not just colleagues, they were true friends and I think nothing had hit me as much as almost the loss of my twin sister," he said.