Mr. Ban Ki Moon, UN General Secretary in a recent press
conference organised to update on UN efforts including preparation of the
Rio+20 Conference said he will appoint a new Special Representative for
Youth to engage young people and spearhead UN efforts. During 49 minutes long
talk (
English,
French)
he shared updates from/views on several other events and processes from Davos
to Rio, MDGs to SDGs, and much more. Please find below the transcript.
Click above links to access the video.
Press Conference: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
25 January 2012
OPENING REMARKS AT PRESS CONFERENCE
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great
pleasure to see you.
This is the first press conference of my second term. I’m
glad to be with you today and look forward to building on our good relations
with the UN press corps, and I count on your support.
As you know, I just briefed the General Assembly on my
Action Agenda for 2012 and beyond, for the coming five years.
I won’t repeat the details. You have the speech and
the agenda before you. We are also posting it on the Web, with links to UN
Facebook and Twitter.
Let me step back briefly and explain the thinking behind
the Agenda.
In addition to the core business of the United Nations, I
wanted our team to look deeply at the world and our work today. I wanted to
identify areas where opportunity and need come together like never
before.
These are times of austerity. Yet, these are also times
of promise. More people are becoming engaged; more people are empowered to make
a real difference.
If we dedicate our energies and mobilize the UN system,
we can move the needle for generations to come. We can create the future we
want.
In September, we identified five imperatives – five
generational opportunities for change.
·
Sustainable development.
·
Preventing conflicts and disasters, human rights abuses
and development setbacks.
·
Building a safer and more secure world, including by
standing strong on fundamental principles of democracy and human rights.
·
Supporting nations in transition.
·
Working with and for women and young people.
Today I laid out a roadmap for delivering. What’s
new? There are too many initiatives to list, but let me highlight five:
First, we have an unprecedented opportunity to wipe out
deaths from five of the world’s biggest killers. With focused engagement by the
UN and its global partners, we can eliminate deaths from malaria, polio,
paediatric HIV infections, and maternal and neonatal tetanus. We are also
close to ending deaths from measles once and for all.
Second: sustainable development.
As we look to this year’s Rio+20 Summit, we will forge
consensus on a new generation of sustainable development goals, building on the
Millennium Development Goals.
Third, these are anxious times for families around the
world. Earlier this week, the ILO announced that the world will need 600
million new jobs over the next decade for sustainable growth.
We need to mobilize the international system like never
before to expand economic opportunity. We need a new social contract.
Our Agenda starts
with economic empowerment for women and expanded opportunities for young
people. I will appoint a new Special Representative for Youth to engage
young people and spearhead our efforts.
Fourth, we push on prevention. Prevention saves billions
of dollars and millions of lives. The UN is the world’s fire brigade in
responding to disasters and keeping the peace.
Our Action Agenda will place prevention at the very
centre of our work, from development to peace and security to protecting human
rights and advancing democracy.
Fifth, we will work with Member States to declare a new
environmental frontier: an Antarctic Nature Preserve.
Over the last half century, the southern ice cap has been
melting. Pollution is threatening species. The Antarctic is an essential
ecosystem, like nowhere else on Earth. We have a chance to save it and we must
come together to do so.
We can do this, and more, through the power of
partnerships and a stronger UN.
Today I announced that we will create a UN Partnership
facility. We need to mobilize the formidable resources of the private sector,
civil society, philanthropists and academia behind a broader range of the UN
agenda.
I also announced that the UN will launch a new generation
of the UN Delivering As One, focused on managing for results and improved
accountability.
Let me turn now to current events.
This morning saw the conclusion of the latest round of
Cyprus talks at Greentree.
We still have far to go. But we will spare no
effort. I will not repeat what I said this morning.
On Syria, I am encouraged by the Arab League’s initiative
to seek a political solution to the crisis and welcome their decision to seek
the support of the Security Council.
Regarding Somalia, this is a landmark day: our special
envoy, Mr. Augustine Mahiga, has formally moved his office – UNPOS – the UN
Political Office in Somalia - to Mogadishu — an important expression of
confidence and commitment for the country’s future.
On Libya, my Special Representative, Ian [Martin], and
High Commissioner Navi Pillay briefed the Security Council this morning. As you
know, our political mission, UNSMIL, is working to support Libyan authorities
in a number of areas: elections, public security, rule of law and transitional
justice.
Let me conclude by noting that today marks the one-year
anniversary of Tahrir Square. On this important day, I want to congratulate the
people of Egypt on their peaceful transition to democracy and their
determination to push for continuing change.
Yesterday, Field Marshall Tantawi announced a partial
lifting of the state of emergency. I encourage the transitional authorities to
pursue the peaceful and early handover of power to civilian government, to
uphold human rights, to release political detainees and accelerate the pace of
reform.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today I leave for the World Economic Forum at
Davos.
This year, the main debate will be on topics that are
front and centre of the work of the United Nations -- the social contract,
social issues, social justice.
I look forward to hearing fresh ideas.
I will take part in sessions on sustainable energy for
all, women's and children's health, and seizing the opportunity presented by the
upcoming Rio + 20 conference on sustainable development and I will have a
number bilaterals with leaders participating in the Davos Forum.
On 29 January, I will be in Addis Ababa for the African
Union Summit, where we will focus on further deepening the vital strategic
partnership between the United Nations and the African Union on many challenges
including Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and other regional issues.
Then, I will visit the Middle East -- Jordan, Israel and
the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
My visit comes at an important moment.
As you know, Israelis and Palestinian negotiators began
preparatory talks in Amman, in line with the most recent statement by the
Quartet.
I will be there to encourage both sides to re-engage in
earnest and create a positive atmosphere for moving forward.
Ladies and Gentlemen, before concluding, and before
receiving your questions, I would like to make a short statement on senior
appointments on my team.
In keeping with the plans announced on December 5, 2011,
for the anticipated changes in the senior posts of managers, I would like to
make an additional announcement, in addition to what my Chef de Cabinet had
already announced at that time.
First, I would like to inform you that the Deputy
Secretary-General, Mrs. Asha-Rose Migiro, and my Chef de Cabinet, Mr. Vijay
Nambiar, expressed their wish to step down, so as to allow me to compose a new
team of senior managers for the second term.
I wish to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to
Deputy Secretary-General Migiro and Mr. Nambiar for their unfailing support,
wise counsel, and dedication in handling the many challenges that have faced
the Organization during my first term. To ensure continuity up to the
Rio+20 preparations, and smooth transition of my team, DSG Migiro will stay in
office until the end of June this year. Mr. Nambiar will move to serve as
my Special Advisor on Myanmar at an appropriate time, following the transition
in my Executive Office.
Second, I intend to seek nominations for the Under-Secretary-General
position of the Department of Management to supplement my own search efforts. I
am grateful to Ms. Angela Kane for her dedication and commitment to improving
the management of the work of the United Nations and its reform agenda.
My special thanks go to her and her team at the Department of Management for
their hard work to get through the difficult yet successful budget process late
last year.
Third, two Under-Secretaries-General – my Special
Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, and Special Adviser for
Prevention of Genocide, will relinquish their duties mid this year. I
intend to carefully review the needs of these offices, with a view to taking
stock of the achievements made so far and to suggest a way forward to scale up
and harness institutional synergy with the related offices. I pay tribute to
the tireless efforts and unrelenting commitment of both Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy and Mr. Francis Deng to furtherance of these important mandates of
the Organization.
The search and appointment process has started to fill
various senior positions, including those announced. Nine USG positions -
at DPA, DESA, DM, DGACM, DPI, ODA, OSA – Office of the Special Adviser for
Africa, ECA, ECE and five Assistant Secretary-General positions at the Funds
and Programmes like the UNDP and UNFPA. They will proceed in a
transparent and competitive manner, based on merit, while taking geographical
and gender balance into account.
We will keep you informed of the progress in the composition
of the new senior management team. I thank you very much for your
attention, and now I am happy to take questions.
