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launching exciting, innovative initiatives;
and calling faithfully and constantly for respect for human rights, the
rule of law and the other values rooted in our Charter,”
Following taking the oath of office, Mr. Ban
Ki-Moon said he was proud and humbled to accept the re-appointment for the
second term. He promised to work as a harmonizer, and a bridge builder work
as a harmonizer and bridge-builder – among Member States, within the United
Nations system, and between the United Nations and a rich diversity of
international partners. Climate Change will be one of his key focus during
his second term. Mr. Ki-Moon also implied that The full text of Mr. Ban Ki-Moon's
text follows:
President of the General Assembly,
Presidents of the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council,
Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea,
Vice Presidents of the General Assembly,
Representatives of the Five Regional Groups,
Permanent Representative of the United
States,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
With your decision this afternoon, with your
warm words, you do me a very great honour, beyond expression.
Standing in this place, mindful of the
immense legacy of my predecessors, I am humbled by your trust and enlarged
by our sense of common purpose.
This solemn occasion is special in another
respect. On being sworn in, a few moments ago, I placed my hand on the UN
Charter, not a copy, but the original signed in San Francisco. Our
Founding Fathers deemed this document so precious that it was flown back
to Washington, strapped to its own parachute. No such consideration was
given to the poor diplomat accompanying it; he had to take his chances. We
thank the U.S. National Archives for their generosity in lending it today,
and for their care in preserving it.
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
The Charter of the United Nations is the
animating spirit and soul of our great institution. For sixty-five years,
this great Organization has carried the flame of human aspiration, “We the
peoples.”
From the last of the great world wars,
through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of apartheid .We have fed
the hungry, delivered comfort to the sick and suffering, brought peace to
those afflicted by war.
This great Organization, dedicated to human
progress - the United Nations.
Excellencies,
We began our work together, four and a half
years ago, with a call for a “new multilateralism”, a new spirit of
collective action. We saw, in our daily work, how all the world's people
look more and more to the United Nations. We knew then , and more so now ,
that we live in an era of integration and interconnection, a new era where
no country can solve all challenges on its own and where every country
should be part of the solution.
That is the reality of the modern world. We
can struggle with it, or we can lead. The role of the United Nations is to
lead. Each of us here today shares that heavy responsibility. It is why
the UN matters in a different and deeper way than ever before. To lead, we
must deliver results. Mere statistics will not do. We need results that
people can see and touch - results that change lives - make a difference.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and
gentlemen,
Working together, with goodwill and mutual
trust, we have laid a firm foundation for the future.
When we began, climate change was an
invisible issue. Today, we have placed it squarely on the global agenda.
When we began to work together, nuclear
disarmament was frozen in time. Today, we see progress.
We have advanced on global health,
sustainable development and education. We are on track to eliminate deaths
from malaria. With a final push, we can eradicate polio, just as we did
smallpox long ago.
We have shielded the poor and vulnerable
against the greatest economic upheaval in generations.
Amid devastating natural disasters, we were
there, saving lives, in Haiti, Pakistan, Myanmar.
As never before, the UN is on the front
lines protecting people and also helping build the peace ? in Sudan, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia; in Afghanistan, Iraq and the
Middle East.
We have stood firm for democracy, justice
and human rights in Côte d'Ivoire, North Africa and beyond.
We have carved out a new dimension for the
Responsibility to Protect.
We created UN Women to empower women
everywhere. That includes the UN system itself.
And yet, we never forget how far we have to
go. We must continue the important work that we have begun together.
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
As we look to the future, we recognize the
imperative for decisive and concerted action.
In economic hard times, we must stretch
resources, do better with less. We must improve our ability to Deliver as
One.
We must do more to connect the dots among
the world's challenges, so that solutions to one global problem become
solutions for all on women's and children's health, green growth,
more equitable social and economic development.
A clear time-frame lies ahead: the target
date for the Millennium Development Goals in 2015, next year's Rio + 20
conference, the high-level meeting on nuclear safety in September and the
Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul next year.
In all this, our ultimate power is
partnership.
Our legacy, such as it may be, will be
written in alliance, the leaders of the world, leading in common cause.
As in the past, I count on your support and
even deeper partnership. By acting decisively to renew my mandate, you
have given the gift of time, time to carry on the important work
that, together, we have begun.
In the months to come, we will be reaching
out to you for your views and ideas. Drawing on those discussions, I shall
present our broader long-term vision at the next General Assembly in
September.
My predecessor Dag Hammarskjold once said,
“Never for the sake of 'peace and quiet' deny your own experience or
conviction.” Like my distinguished forebear, I take this lesson to heart.
It has been a great privilege to serve as
your Secretary-General. That you should ask me to serve once again, makes
it all the greater.
With gratitude for your support and
encouragement, and honouring your trust, I pledge my full commitment to
accept your support. I am proud and humbled to accept.
As Secretary-General, I will work as a
harmonizer and bridge-builder, among Member States, within the United
Nations system, and between the United Nations and a rich diversity of
international partners.
To quote the great philosopher Lao-tzu:
“The Way of heaven is to benefit others and not to injure. The Way of the
sage is to act but not compete.” Let us apply this enduring wisdom
to our work today. Out of the competition of ideas, let us find unity in
action.
Honouring your trust, I pledge my full
commitment, my full energy and resolve to uphold the fundamental
principles of our sacred Charter. Together, let us do all we can to help
this noble Organization better serve “we the peoples” of the world.
Together, no challenge is too large. Together, nothing is “impossible.”
Thank you.
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