Secretary-General, in address to francophonie summit, warns against letting

financial crisis distract from Millennium Goals, other challenges

(Translated from the original French.)

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s address to the Francophonie Summit in Québec City, Canada, on 17 October:

Allow me first to thank our hosts, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and Premier Jean Charest of Québec, and to thank Canada for its many contributions to the United Nations.

I am delighted that this Summit is being held in the magnificent city of Québec, which is celebrating the 400^th year of its existence.

During this period of serious financial problems, it is especially appropriate that economic governance is one of the themes of this Summit.

We have reached the halfway point in our race towards the Millennium Development Goals, which constitute our shared vision of building a better world in this new century.

But many countries are not capable of reaching these Goals by 2015.

I welcome the measures and initiatives taken by world leaders to address the effects and causes of the financial crisis. 

It is urgent to restore stability and trust.

As we all know, the United Nations is a body unique of its kind in which both the developing and the developed countries have a voice.

As Secretary-General of the United Nations, it is my primary responsibility to make sure that the crisis does not add to the suffering of the poorest of the poor. 

The danger, of course, is that the pressures arising from the worldwide financial crisis may cause us to lose more ground. 

But this is not inevitable and we must do what is needed to prevent it.

I rely on you to help me consolidate those gains during these difficult times in the name of human solidarity and of our responsibility to protect the poorest among us.

We must also continue to pay attention to other crises.  Climate change remains the greatest challenge of our time.  We cannot allow the financial crisis to slow our progress at Poznan in December or in Copenhagen next year.

During this era of globalization, we are witnessing a resurgence of violence and the disturbing emergence of a new type of threat to international peace and security.  Climate change, the proliferation of diseases and deadly weapons and the scourge of terrorism know no borders.  We must preserve the global commons for the sake of the common good.  Never has international partnership been more important.

Partnership is the way of the future.  It is the model that we must follow in addressing other challenges.  It is the model that we must follow in our common search for a solution to the financial crisis.

In Doha next month, the Follow-Up International Conference on Financing for Development will give us an excellent opportunity to keep our promises. 

We must not allow the financial crisis to undermine our commitment to devoting more resources to development and to combating climate change.  There is no time to lose.  I urge Member States to participate in this Conference at a high level.

The United Nations must work towards the birth of a safer, healthier and more prosperous world. 

And in order to do so, it needs the help of organizations like yours.  So let our two organizations continue to cooperate in the area of conflict prevention. 

I also hope that this collaboration of the French-speaking countries will contribute to a peaceful settlement of the existing conflicts between some members of your organization.

For my part, I pledge to continue this important work with our two secretariats. 

Let us not forget that, without peace, there can be no sustainable development.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record