Thank you. Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity, as we have just begun the General Assembly’s 67th session yesterday.

Thank you for being here – and thank you for your indulgence. We are having this press conference later in the day than usual.

That is because I am just coming from my first bilateral meeting of this [General Assembly] session, with a very demanding global icon. Guess whom?

I am speaking about Kami, the South African Muppet!

I have just come from the Sesame Street studios. Kami is the first HIV-positive muppet. We are working with her and the rest of the muppet family to advance our work on global health.

This is just one of the many important urgent issues that will be addressed during the General Assembly session, and that will be one of the spotlights.

This year’s General Debate will be among our busiest ever.

This reflects the tumultuous time in which we live -- a time of turmoil and transition.

As of today, we expect 123 Heads of State and Government level, or high-level delegations, Foreign Ministers or Deputy Prime Ministers, who will take part in the General Debate.

The deteriorating situation in Syria will be foremost in our minds. As you know, Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi continues his diplomacy to launch a Syrian-led transition process. He met President [Bashar al-] Assad and opposition leaders and many others last week.

In parallel, and as a matter of the utmost urgency, the UN humanitarian efforts continue round the clock, in and around Syria. We are present on the ground, with food, shelter, medicine and more. We are determined to reach people in need. I urge the Syrian Government and opposition to ensure access and donors to continue their generosity.

A series of mini-summits and special meetings will focus on the emergency in the Sahel, progress in Somalia, the encouraging transitions in Myanmar and Yemen, instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and relations between Sudan and South Sudan.

We will also discuss the threat of nuclear terrorism and press for the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.

We are also looking forward to the first-ever high-level meeting on the rule of law.

The rule of law is as important within countries as it is in the international arena. My hope is that Member States will send a strong signal to the world’s people that they are serious about establishing well-functioning institutions and delivering justice.

Turning to the Millennium Development Goals, the 2015 deadline is not far off.

Next week I will be announcing major new steps related to my Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

I will be reporting solid progress on the Scale-Up Nutrition and Every Woman Every Child efforts.

And I will launch a new initiative, Education First.

Tomorrow I will be back in this room to launch the latest report on the eighth Millennium Development Goal -- the global partnership for development.

My MDG Advocates will be here this week to help mobilize action.

The members of my panel on the post-2015 development agenda will also gather for the first time. Their work is crucially important, and I have asked them for bold yet practical ideas.

Stepping back a bit, the opening of this new session takes place against a backdrop of widespread violence linked to intolerance.

I once again condemn those who deliberately provoke others with hatred and bigotry. I also join with others in speaking out against those who, in response to such provocations, fan those flames further still.

It is time for calm, restraint and responsible political and community leadership.

Finally, let me add that this will be the first general debate of my second term.

Earlier this year I set out an action agenda that identified five generational imperatives: sustainable development, prevention, a more secure world, helping countries in transition and empowering women and youth.

Next week I will outline where we are and where I believe we need to go.

That effort must include modernizing the United Nations through a series of reform initiatives and partnerships.

But most of all, it will require greater ambition on the part of the world’s leaders. I intend to be frank with them about where we are falling short, why people around the world have a right to be impatient, and how we can do better.

At a time of rising inequality and unemployment, a time of rising temperatures and intolerance, the UN itself must rise to the moment.

Thank you.