UN General Assembly Memorial held for late UN chief Kofi Annan

UNITED NATIONS - "The United Nations and Kofi Annan (the late UN secretary-general) were inseparable; it is impossible to say where one ended and the other began," the current UN chief, Antonio Guterres, said on Friday.

Guterres led a list of diplomats, staff and family members speaking in the UN General Assembly Hall at a memorial tribute to Annan, who died on Aug. 18 in Geneva after a short illness, a Nobel laureate and native of Ghana.

"Kofi Annan was uncommonly warm, accessible and of the people -- but above all he was principled and forceful in battling for the values of the UN Charter," said Guterres. "He was charming and wise, kind and courageous. But he also knew how to deliver the barb -- in his masterly subtle way."

"And sometimes, people were so captivated by his presence that they did not realize that they were being admonished!' said Guterres, who Annan appointed High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005.

But, "Throughout his tenure Kofi Annan urged us never to be bystanders in life," the UN chief said. "He summoned us all to act against bias, brutality and bloodshed."

"He was a multilateralist through and through, a true UN-blue believer in a rules-based global order," Guterres said. "And, I must say, his loss cuts even deeper because we have never needed that faith and inspiration more."

This was a reference to US President Donald Trump's history of snubbing multilateralism for his bilateral approach to international relations.

"Kofi Annan called the United Nations the 'last best hope of humanity," said Guterres. "He burned with the flame of human rights, dignity and justice."