Generalsekretæren gør status på 2010
17 December 2010 - In his
end-of-year "state of the world" news conference, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon today called 2010 "a big year for the United Nations,"
with progress on issues from biodiversity to electoral support in
Iraq and Afghanistan, but warned of challenges ahead in Sudan, the
Middle East and other world flashpoints.
"Looking ahead, our challenge is to carry our progress forward,"
he said of the agenda for 2011, which he will lay out more fully
next month. "Resources are tighter. Demands on the UN are growing.
This requires us to focus more on prevention, preparedness, being
proactive, being persistent, all within a framework that is
transparent and accountable."
Dealing with potential crises looming on the eve of the New
Year, Mr. Ban focused on Côte d'Ivoire, where outgoing President
Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to step down despite opposition leader
Alassane Ouattara's clear victory in November elections has led to
renewed violence in the divided country, and Sudan where the South
is to hold a referendum on independence next month.
He stressed that Mr. Gbagbo's efforts to flout the public will
cannot be allowed to stand, and pledged UN assistance to help the
northern and southern Sudanese address common challenges following
the 9 January vote.
Turning to the Middle East, he once again urged Israelis and
Palestinians to engage seriously and be forthcoming on substance
and reiterated Israel's obligation to freeze all settlement
activity, including in East Jerusalem.
On Myanmar, he called the elections, despite serious
shortcomings, and the release of democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi significant developments, and said that the Government can and
should build on them, and pledged continued long-term comprehensive
engagement.
The UN will also seek progress on many of the longer-term
challenges, Mr. Ban said, including peace on the Korean Peninsula,
the Iranian nuclear issue, bringing a stable government to
war-ravaged Somalia, and helping to reunify Cyprus in a bi-zonal,
bi-communal country with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a
Greek Cypriot Constituent State of equal status.
On Haiti, he voiced concern at allegations of fraud in the
recent first round of elections and pledged continued UN support to
ensure that they reflect the will of the Haitian people.
Looking back on 2010, Mr. Ban cited progress made on the UN
anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals, which seek to slash a
host of social ills by 2015, the $40 billion mobilized for the new
Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health and advances in
Nagoya, Japan, on conserving biodiversity and in Cancun, Mexico, on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, forest protection, climate
finance, adaptation and technology.
He also mentioned UN preventive diplomacy with support for 34
different mediation, facilitation and dialogue efforts, citing the
easing of the political crisis in Kyrgyzstan and keeping the
transition to democracy on track in Guinea.
The UN was also very active on the humanitarian front in the
face of natural disasters, responding to the devastating
earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, as well as the floods in Pakistan,
Mr. Ban stressed.
"Looking back and looking ahead, I want to reiterate a point
that I believe defines today's complex and connected world," he
concluded. "Truly global action requires mobilizing support,
creating broad alliances and building coalitions. In the search for
solutions, progress does not come with big bangs but with steady,
determined steps.
"It is the accumulation of these small steps, these steady
elements of progress that set the stage for larger changes - the
breakthroughs of tomorrow. We live in a unique multilateral moment,
a world changing in the most dramatic ways since the end of World
War II.
"The United Nations must keep pace. We have made progress this
year. But we can and must continue."
Kilde: UN News
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