The United Nations and industrialized countries around the world must promote economic development and human rights in Africa, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in Gaston Hall last night after receiving an honorary degree from Georgetown.

Annan, who will step down at the end of December after nine years in his position at the U.N., said that he had furthered development, strengthened security and defended human rights and the rule of law in Africa during his tenure.

“In the last decade, Africans have undertaken a remarkable struggle to confront these three global challenges,” he said. “With unprecedented vigor and resolve, they are working to build a new, more hopeful Africa.”

He also said to the standing-room-only crowd that he was proud of the United Nations’ role in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Annan acknowledged that much work still remains, however, particularly in regards to developing technology to foster economic development and fight poverty and HIV/AIDS on the continent, adding that Africa’s technological deficiency has prevented it from maintaining better security and becoming more prosperous.

“Africa needs more and better aid, it needs fairer trade and it needs a green revolution to improve agricultural production and feed all its people,” he said.

African nations must also develop strong, stable democratic governments to prevent human rights violations and further economic and social development, Annan said. He added that many African nations have enfranchised more people across gender and economic boundaries, citing last year’s election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as president of Liberia, the continent’s first elected female head of state.

Conflicts like the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, however, show that corrupt governments still threaten peace, Annan said.

“The continent of peace remains an idea in search of realization,” he said. “Africa’s government gains are real, but they remain tenuous in the face of grave challenges. The more accountable governments are, the more likely they are to be responsible to the needs of their people.”

Annan concluded his remarks with a call for international leaders to increase their monetary and structural support to African nations.

“We must work with [Africa’s leaders] and invest in them to build a better future that must be theirs,” he said.

Annan received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown for his “remarkable leadership at a crucial time in the global community,” according to the degree citation.

University President John J. DeGioia praised Annan for his “moral and spiritual” leadership and his commitment to human rights around the world.

“I believe this is one of Mr. Secretary-General’s greatest legacies – protection of human rights must never stop at any border’s edge,” DeGioia said.

Annan received praise during his time at the United Nations for streamlining the agency’s bureaucracy while maintaining its commitment to Africa and promoting international peace. He and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and he has promoted the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, an accord signed in 2000 to help eradicate international poverty.

Recently however, Annan has come under fire for a number of scandals at the United Nations, including the mishandling of the Oil-for-Food program.

Annan’s speech was the fourth annual Oliver Tambo Lecture, named in honor of the South African who served as president of the African National Congress for 20 years beginning in 1969. Tambo spoke at Georgetown in 1987, six years before his death. Previous lecturers have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South African President Thabo Mbeki.