Ban Ki-moon

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. 

Girls and boys, Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,
 
I am so pleased to join you in congratulating UNICEF on its 70th anniversary.
 
We recognize all that this remarkable organization has done for children and our world.
 
Lives saved. Lives improved. Lives like mine.
 
I would not be where I am today without UNICEF.
 
When I was six years old, the Korean War broke out. I had to flee my village.
 
I was hungry and in need.
 
That’s when the United Nations came. 
 

Your Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Your Excellency Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, Your Excellency Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Honourable Saber Chowdhury, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Honourable Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the IPU, Distinguished women Speakers of parliament, Honourable parliamentarians, Ladies and gentlemen,
 

I am pleased to send my greetings to the Fifth Review Conference to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).
Thirty-six years after its adoption, the CCW has reached a critical juncture. Our world is increasingly subjected to a form of warfare conducted with unprecedented numbers of weapons and resulting in disastrous civilian casualties. How this Review Conference chooses to further prohibit and regulate certain types of conventional weapons over the next five years will have a significant impact on the prevention of human suffering.

It is a pleasure to greet Auburn University, the Global Partnership Forum and all those who have come together for the International Quality of Life Awards.  I thank Auburn University for its longstanding work with the World Food Programme and others in our efforts to eliminate hunger – a key goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  I congratulate Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, who is this year’s IQLA Laureate as well as a good friend of the United Nations.  Let me also express my appreciation for the IQLA Global Leadership Award, which I accept on behal

Your Excellency, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
 
I am delighted to send greetings to this gathering. You meet just after my recent visit to Turkmenistan for the Global Sustainable Transport Conference.
 
Congratulations on celebrating Turkmenistan’s Permanent Neutrality, which reflects the country’s strong commitment to international peace and security.
 
Turkmenistan and the United Nations have had a productive partnership over the past 25 years.
 

Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos, President of Fundacion Onuart, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Congratulations on this commemoration of Human Rights Day. I thank the Fundacion Onuart for organizing this concert.  We are especially honoured to have Maestro Daniel Barenboim – an artistic genius and champion of humanity.
 
Abuses and atrocities can only be addressed by defending and upholding universal human rights. Music is not only a powerful reminder of, but critical tool to advance, our common humanity.
 

I thank Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi for organizing this Laureates & Leaders for Children Summit.
 
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our vision for the world’s children.
 
Together, we must end child labour, child marriage, violence and exploitation. We must help all children suffering from war, natural disasters and climate change.
 
When we protect children, we secure everyone’s future.       
 

I am pleased to send greetings to the Global Forum on Migration and Development, and I thank the Government of Bangladesh for hosting.  Bangladesh has been a steadfast champion for safe, orderly and regular migration, working to make migration part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and playing an important constructive role in negotiating the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.