Welcome to the United Nations

Secretary-General Statements

2 Feb 2011
Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Excellencies and distinguished guests, Dear faculty members, dear students, Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, for your very kind introduction and for this invitation. I am honored to have this opportunity after my distinguished predecessors, as fourth United Nations Secretary-General to speak before you in this very esteemed and one of the oldest universities. It is an honor to be part of the Oxford community, if only for a day.
26 Oct 2010
Secretary-General Urges Security Council to Take Appropriate Steps to End Impunity, Prevent Brutality against Women and Girls in Conflict Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the Security Council’s open debate on women, peace and security, in New York, today, 26 October:   I welcome the opportunity to address this commemorative open debate.   I thank the President and the members of the Council for allowing me to participate by video.
13 Oct 2010
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,   One of the most difficult and important tasks facing the United Nations is to ensure that nations emerging from devastating conflicts are not allowed to slide back into violence.   Building peace may sound straightforward, but we know from painful experience that it is not. Success requires patient, long-term commitments and the involvement of a wide range of actors, working together.  
7 Jul 2010
Madam President, Distinguished members of the Security Council, Excellencies, I thank the Government of Nigeria for convening this debate, and I commend the Security Council for its continued engagement on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.   The willful targeting of civilians, disproportionate attacks, sexual violence, forced displacement and the denial of humanitarian access remain widespread in armed conflict, often carried out with impunity.  
22 Jun 2010
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank the President of the General Assembly for organizing and scheduling this debate to mark the 10th anniversary of the Brahimi Report, a milestone in the evolution of United Nations peacekeeping operations.
7 Jun 2010
MESSAGE FOR “GLOBAL OPEN DAY FOR WOMEN AND PEACE” [week of 7 June 2010] This October, we will mark the tenth anniversary of the Security Council’s groundbreaking resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which called for higher levels of women’s involvement in peacemaking and peace-building. This anniversary is an opportunity to reaffirm the core message of that landmark text: sustainable peace is possible only with women’s full participation -- their perspectives, their leadership, their daily, equal presence wherever we seek to make and keep the peace.
12 Feb 2010
Monsieur le Président, Mesdames et Messieurs les représentants,  Mesdames et Messieurs, Je remercie la France d'avoir pris l'initiative de fixer notre attention sur la question cruciale des stratégies de transition et de retrait des opérations de maintien de la paix. Pris au sens le plus large, notre objectif devrait être bien clair : les Casques bleus devraient s'employer sans relâche à mettre fin eux-mêmes à leur travail.