Wednesday
Dec172008
UN's Ban Ki-moon rounds up the year
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 11:34AM
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, rounded up the year of activities and said he looked hopeful for the year ahead. He underlined how this is has been a difficult year-- a year of multiple crises and "the coming year promises to be no less difficult."
He underscored that human rights, in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are our shared responsibility and we must deliver. "In 2008, our record has been mixed in the face of economic recession. Climate change must be high on the global agenda. But the real test is to increase political will and policy priorities among leaders in order to resolve many of these global challenge issues-poverty alleviation included."
Responses to natural disasters in Myanmar and Haiti were swift, but Ki-moon said Myanmar's government has not been cooperative in the dialogue for democracy. And the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen further escalation of violence. Deployment in Darfur through the joint UN African Union force has been slow and still lacks mission critical assets like helicopters. Renewed fighting also makes the peace agreement between North and South Sudan strained. The UN has helped to mitigate the potentially explosive situation in Kosovo.
He also stressed the global food crisis no longer dominates news headlines but it has not gone away. Ki-moon also underscored that 2009 will be the year for climate change. He would like to see a shared vision for long term cooperation from states. "We have no time to waste. We must reach a global climate change deal by the end of the year." He cited the European Union's historic agreement that has pushed climate change at the top of the world's arena. The Secretary-General will put climate change at the top of the UN's agenda at the General Assembly and is hopeful the Obama administration will contribute to the policy-changes needed to promote green initiatives.
The Secretary-General believes that peace and security have steadily been created between Israel and the Palestinians--with the creation of the Quartet to move ahead the Annapolis negotiations on a two-state solution. "Potentially, 2009 could be a year of peace in the Middle East." He also stated that peace has steadily increased in Iraq with the reduction of insurgent attacks and with the upcoming elections in the new year.
In Zimbabwe, Ki-moon said the southern African community has tried to lead international development efforts with little results. "As I told the Security Council, we need a fast and fair resolution for the country."
In Somalia, Ban Ki-moon would like to see a multi-national force to deal with piracy and humanitarian aid issues. He hoped the strengthening of African Union forces and training Somali forces will be the right course of action. In Afghanistan, he said the worsening humanitarian situation require a political agreement to reduce ongoing insurgent attacks. "We know only to well the consequences of failure. It is again, our responsibility to deliver."
He underscored that human rights, in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are our shared responsibility and we must deliver. "In 2008, our record has been mixed in the face of economic recession. Climate change must be high on the global agenda. But the real test is to increase political will and policy priorities among leaders in order to resolve many of these global challenge issues-poverty alleviation included."
Responses to natural disasters in Myanmar and Haiti were swift, but Ki-moon said Myanmar's government has not been cooperative in the dialogue for democracy. And the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen further escalation of violence. Deployment in Darfur through the joint UN African Union force has been slow and still lacks mission critical assets like helicopters. Renewed fighting also makes the peace agreement between North and South Sudan strained. The UN has helped to mitigate the potentially explosive situation in Kosovo.
He also stressed the global food crisis no longer dominates news headlines but it has not gone away. Ki-moon also underscored that 2009 will be the year for climate change. He would like to see a shared vision for long term cooperation from states. "We have no time to waste. We must reach a global climate change deal by the end of the year." He cited the European Union's historic agreement that has pushed climate change at the top of the world's arena. The Secretary-General will put climate change at the top of the UN's agenda at the General Assembly and is hopeful the Obama administration will contribute to the policy-changes needed to promote green initiatives.
The Secretary-General believes that peace and security have steadily been created between Israel and the Palestinians--with the creation of the Quartet to move ahead the Annapolis negotiations on a two-state solution. "Potentially, 2009 could be a year of peace in the Middle East." He also stated that peace has steadily increased in Iraq with the reduction of insurgent attacks and with the upcoming elections in the new year.
In Zimbabwe, Ki-moon said the southern African community has tried to lead international development efforts with little results. "As I told the Security Council, we need a fast and fair resolution for the country."
In Somalia, Ban Ki-moon would like to see a multi-national force to deal with piracy and humanitarian aid issues. He hoped the strengthening of African Union forces and training Somali forces will be the right course of action. In Afghanistan, he said the worsening humanitarian situation require a political agreement to reduce ongoing insurgent attacks. "We know only to well the consequences of failure. It is again, our responsibility to deliver."
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