CAIRO, Oct 1 (Aswat Masriya) -  “If you try forcing change from outside in a country that has been under complete pressure for 60 to 70 years, it won’t work. You cannot move into democracy overnight, democracy is not instant coffee,” Former Vice President of Egypt Mohamed ElBaradei said in a speech to Illinois State University students on Wednesday.

ElBaradei's comments came in response to a question about how to establish "mutual respect" in dealing with heads of state who kill millions of their own people such as North Korea's President Kim Jong-un.

The Nobel Laureate added that there “is no one size fits all. You clearly have to try every possible way to put pressure on these people but you have to keep talking to them.”

ElBaradie, the former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was invited to speak about nuclear disarmament. 

“War, tyranny and poverty, like many other human conditions, are of our own making. They rely on the climate we create and the mindset we cultivate. We need to break this vicious circle and we need a global initiative based on trust, dialogue and mutual respect, not on humiliation and diktats,” he said. 

He concluded his talk with a plea for everyone to work together because the problems we face "have no borders," he said.

“We have to understand that the challenges we face are bigger than anything we’ve encountered. We have to realize we’re one human family and no one will make it alone. We will swim together or sink together. We should live together with peace and dignity.”