Ban Ki-moon

13 December 2016, New York

Readout of the Secretary-General's meeting with the Honorable Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City

The Secretary-General met with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio today.
 
The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to New York City – which three quarters of UN Headquarters staff and their families call home – for being a gracious host to the United Nations.
 
He also voiced his appreciation to Mr. de Blasio for being a strong champion of climate change and sustainable development.
 

13 December 2016, New York

Note to Correspondents: Transcript of press encounter by UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura

SdeM. Good afternoon, you had the opportunity of talking to the ambassador of the Russian Federation and I would like to give you a very short summary because this time it was the Secretary-General himself who spoke to the Security Council. I will make some additional or complementary points.

13 December 2016, New York

Secretary-General's Remarks at the Opening of the Exhibition "A Celebration of Leading Women in the United Nations" [As prepared for delivery]

Your Excellency, Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate of the United Nations,
Your Excellency, Peter Thomson, President of the United Nations General Assembly,
Excellencies,
Permanent Representatives of Colombia, Germany, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
            What a wonderful exhibition!
 
I thank the governments of Colombia, Germany, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, on behalf of the Group of Friends for Gender Parity, for this remarkable initiative.
 

13 December 2016, New York

Secretary-General's Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in Aleppo, Syria [as delivered]

I have been invited to address you on the tragic situation in Aleppo. Since late November, we have seen Syrian Government forces and their allies capture large swathes of territory from Eastern Aleppo. During the last 48 hours, we have seen an almost complete collapse of armed opposition front lines, leaving them with only 5% their original territory in the city.

13 December 2016, New York

Secretary-General's remarks at the Central Emergency Response Fund High-Level Pledging Conference [as delivered]

I am pleased to be with you for this very important pledging conference.

Even as I prepare to leave, my heart will stay as it has since I was a child – right here with the United Nations.

12 December 2016, New York

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Aleppo, Syria

The Secretary-General is alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo. While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the Secretary-General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties. He has instructed his Special Envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned.

Rev. 1

05 December 2016, United States of America

Righting a wrong in Haiti

Last week, I addressed the U.N. General Assembly to outline a new approach to tackle cholera in Haiti — a disease that has afflicted nearly 800,000 people and claimed the lives of more than 9,000 Haitians over the last six years.

This tragedy has cast a shadow upon the relationship between the U.N. and the people of Haiti. It is a blemish on the reputation of U.N. peacekeeping and the organization world-wide.

I began my speech to the General Assembly with a message to the Haitian people:

via The Miami Herald: miamiherald.com

12 December 2016, UN Headquarters

Remarks to the General Assembly Plenary Meeting to pay tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and taking the oath by the Secretary-General-designate António Guterres

UN General Assembly gives Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a standing ovation following the Assembly's adoption of a resolution paying tribute to his service to the United Nations. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

[Bilingual, as delivered version]
 

Thank you for your very kind words and for your trust.  I am deeply moved by your tributes.

Serving as Secretary-General of this great organization, has been a great privilege for me of a lifetime.

As some of you said, I am a child of the United Nations.   

After the Korean War, UN aid fed us.  UN textbooks taught us.  UN global solidarity showed us we were not alone.  

For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic.