ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ITALY, 28–31 AUGUST

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Turin on Thursday, 28 August, where the following morning he opened a two-day retreat with about 60 senior United Nations officials, Under-Secretaries-General and Assistant Secretaries-General coming from New York Headquarters as well as Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.

The retreat, organized by the United Nations Staff College in Turin by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the Department of Management, focused on assessing the previous 20 months and on how best the United Nations could tackle major global challenges, from climate change, to the food crisis, from human rights to peace and security issues, including staff safety.  The working sessions also addressed organizational matters of accountability, team work and building a modern, mobile and efficient workforce within the United Nations system.

The retreat, the second held in Turin, was opened on Friday morning after the swearing-in ceremony for two new senior staff members -- the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, and Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the newly appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, and United Nations Legal Counsel.

The retreat was hosted by the regional and local governments of the Piedmont region and the City of Turin, at a World Heritage site, the newly restored Royal Palace of the House of Savoy.

The Secretary-General departed Italy early on Sunday, 31 August.