UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14: Former South Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-Moon was sworn in as the eighth secretary -general of the United Nations on Thursday amid thunderous and prolonged applause.
The 192-member states paid rich tributes to the outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan who also received a thunderous applause.
Mr Annan and Mr Ban stressed the indissoluble links uniting security, development and human rights as the three pillars of the UN, without any one of which world peace will not be achieved.
Escorted by the UN chief of protocol, Mr Ban left the well of the assembly to mount the podium where the heads of the organisation’s major bodies awaited him and, to loud applause, took the oath of office as the UN 8th Secretary-General, administered by assembly president Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa.
Earlier, by acclamation the assembly adopted a resolution of tribute for Mr Annan who, in the words of Sheikha Haya, has devoted his life to the world organisation.
“His career has been unique,” she said. “He has risen through the ranks of the United Nations and devoted his life’s service to the organisation. So, today we are not only bidding farewell to the current Secretary-General, but also to one of the longest-serving officials of the United Nations.”
She stressed that Mr Annan has stood at the helm as the UN has become a more effective global actor and demands for its services have grown over the past 10 years.
“We are grateful to Kofi Annan for having set out a far-reaching reform framework to make the organisation more relevant to the people of the world: a United Nations that lives to serve humanity and the principles of multilateralism,” Sheikha Haya declared.
“Kofi Annan will leave a lasting legacy. He has guided the United Nations into the 21st century with vision and leadership. As a result the multilateral system is stronger,” she added.
Her words were echoed by the representatives of the various regional groups, who eulogised Mr Annan’s role in facing the many challenges confronting the world at large and the UN itself by promoting peace, humanitarian aid, human rights, development for the under-developed, and wide-ranging reform for the world organisation as epitomised by his 2005 report, In Larger Freedom.
In response Mr Annan noted that despite many difficulties and some setbacks in the past decade “we have achieved much that I am proud of,” citing UN reforms.
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14: Former South Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-Moon was sworn in as the eighth secretary -general of the United Nations on Thursday amid thunderous and prolonged applause.
