Je suis très heureux d’être de retour dans la province [du Nord Kivu] de la République démocratique du Congo. Je suis reconnaissant pour l’accueil très chaleureux de la population, merci.

Je suis très ému aujourd’hui par tout ce que j’ai entendu et ce que j’ai vu moi-même. Je suis très humble et très touché. En tant que Secrétaire général, je vais à la rencontre des plus vulnérables, des fragiles. Je voudrais être leur avocat, la voix de ceux qui n’en ont pas.

Je pense que nous devons améliorer l’assistance humanitaire. C’est pourquoi je vais organiser le premier Sommet humanitaire mondial à Istanbul, Turquie, pendant le mois de mai. Je pense aussi que l’assistance humanitaire et le développement doivent mieux travailler [ensemble] pour changer la vie des gens que j’ai rencontrés aujourd’hui.

Permettez-moi de continuer en anglais.

My visit to IDP camps, meeting so many people, particularly young people, reminded me of my days as one of the IDPs, when I was six years old in Korea, 1950. When the Korean War broke out, it was a deadly horrible war. There were millions of people killed and tens of millions had been separated, displaced. I was one of them. I had to flee.

At that time, the United Nations came. The United Nations was a beacon of hope and rescued us from the brink of collapse of Korea. There were no schools, all the schools were destroyed, I had to study on the ground, on the dirt. There were no chairs, no textbooks, but UNESCO, UNICEF, all the United Nations peacekeepers came. They supported our security, they supported our textbooks and they gave us water, sanitation, food and textbooks.

Now the United Nations are doing all that we have to do. I know that we are suffering from a lack of resources, but the number of IDPs and refugees [is now] so high. We have 60 million people around the world, that is the largest number of IDPs and refugees since the end of the Korean war. We are doing our best efforts, we are mobilizing all humanitarian agencies.

That is why I am going to organize, convene, the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit  meeting. And in September, I am also going to organize a Summit meeting on Global migration and refugee issues. We need support from the Member States. The United Nations cannot do it alone, no country can resolve all these issues alone.
We have to give hope to many young people. Particularly, we have to do much more to bring all these children back to school; we have to do much more to protect human dignity and human rights of women and girls to save them, to protect them from sexual violence.

These [the women I met today in Mungote] are very humbling. As Secretary-General, I will do my best efforts, working together with the United Nations Member States.
I am going to discuss all these matters with President Kabila and other Senior Government officials, and I am going to participate in this private enterprise investments conference in the region. And I sincerely hope that all the parties united, political leaders, demonstrate good governance.

Thank you very much, merci.

[Question on authorities wanting to close some of the IDP camps in North Kivu]

I told the Governor who is here with me not to close IDP camps. I know they [authorities] seem to be lacking resources. The United Nations will work together with the local Government and the central Government.

It is important to provide life-saving assistance to those people who need daily humanitarian assistance.

[Question on efforts to improve security in the areas of origin of IDPs so they can go back home]

People should be protected from violence, particularly women and girls. Whatever we can do [through] our peacekeepers, we will, but there is clearly, as you understand, limits to the peacekeepers to do it all.

We need to work very closely with FARDC and the national police, and that is why MONUSCO and FARDC and the national police are working very closely.
The protection of civilians, that is the number one priority for UN peacekeepers.