“The great goals are within reach” - UN’s Ban
September 23rd, 2010 - 10:03 pm ICT by BNO NewsUNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) — United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the General Assembly on Thursday calling on the international community to pull together as the “great goals” of the world are within reach.
Dozens of world leaders gathered Thursday at the annual opening of the General Assembly’s high-level meeting in New York, where Ban stressed the need for a principled and pragmatic stand “against forces that would divide us.”
Ban told the 192-member Assembly’s General Debate at UN Headquarters it was time to translate promises into reality on issues ranging from eradicating poverty and tackling climate change to eliminating nuclear weapons and promoting the empowerment of women.
“This is a season for pulling together, for consolidating progress, for putting our shoulder to the wheel and delivering results. Real results for people most in need, as only the UN can do,” the Secretary-General said.
Ban also described the current era, beset by the recent financial and food crises and increasing political polarization, as “difficult times” in which the world is being tested to live up to its ideals.
“The world still looks to the United Nations for moral and political leadership. The great goals are within reach. We can achieve them by looking forward, pulling together, uniting our strength as a community of nations in the name of the larger good,” he added.
The Secretary-General welcomed the results of this week’s UN summit on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the set of targets for defeating poverty, hunger, disease and other global ills, all by 2015.
On Wednesday Ban also launched a Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, with countries pledging around $40 billion to slash rates of maternal and child mortality, one of the key targets of the MDGs.
According to Ban, climate change, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and gender equality are among the most important issues that the world must deal with.
In a wide-ranging address he also outlined the UN’s ongoing efforts to resolve conflicts or reduce tensions in places such as Somalia, Sudan, the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.
In addition, the Secretary-General spoke of the UN role in humanitarian operations, whether in dealing with long-term problems or in response to major disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti or the floods in Pakistan.
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Tags: ban ki moon, bno, child mortality, difficult times, food crises, gender equality, global ills, global strategy, great goals, hunger disease, member assembly, millennium development goals, news united nations, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapons, political leadership, political polarization, shoulder to the wheel, tackling climate change, un secretary general