SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES DETERMINATION ‘TO ENSURE WE MAKE PROGRESS ON PRESSING

ISSUES OF OUR TIME, STEP BY STEP’, IN MESSAGE FOR UNITED NATIONS DAY, 24 OCTOBER

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for United Nations Day, 24 October:

The world is changing in the United Nations favour -- as more people and Governments understand that multilateralism is the only path in our interdependent and globalizing world.  Global problems demand global solutions -- and going it alone is not a viable option.  Whether we are speaking of peace and security, development or human rights, demands on our Organization are growing every day.

I am determined to ensure that we make progress on the pressing issues of our time, step by step, building on achievements along the way, working with Member States and civil society.  That means strengthening the United Nations ability to play its role to the fullest extent in conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.  And it means invigorating our efforts for disarmament and non-proliferation.

At the same time, we must redouble our efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in Africa.  I will seek to mobilize political will and hold leaders to their commitments on aid, trade and debt relief.

And I will continue to do all I can to galvanize global and decisive action on climate change.  The United Nations is the natural forum for building consensus on this pressing issue, as we saw in the high-level event held a month ago on the margins of the General Assembly.  The many leaders who attended sent a clear message to the Bali negotiations in December under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: this is no longer business as usual, and we must build momentum across industrialized and developing countries to ensure results.  Protecting the climate for present and future generations is in the common interest of all.

If security and development are two pillars of the United Nations work, human rights is the third.  I will work with Member States and civil society to translate the concept of the responsibility to protect from word to deed, so as to ensure timely action when populations face genocide, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity.

Finally, we must transform the United Nations itself.  We must adapt to meet new needs and ensure the highest standards of ethics, integrity and accountability, so as to demonstrate that we are fully answerable to all Member States and to people around the world.

We will be judged in the future on the actions we take today -- on results.  On this United Nations Day, let us rededicate ourselves to achieving them.

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For information media • not an official record