WORLD LEADERS DEBATE AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF UNITED NATIONS ABOUT CRUCIAL ISSUES

USPA NEWS - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the 71st annual debate of the UN General Assembly with a call on world leaders to recognize that the important positions they hold are a reflection of the trust the people have in them and “not personal property.“

Highlighting the challenges confronting the global community, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the 71st annual debate of the UN General Assembly on September 20th, with a call on world leaders to recognize that the important positions they hold are a reflection of the trust the people have in them and “not personal property.“------------------- THE MESSAGE IS TO SERVE THE PEOPLE : “My message to all is clear: serve your people. Do not subvert democracy; do not pilfer your country's resources; do not imprison and torture your critics,“ Mr. Ban said in his opening address to leaders from the UN´s member countries. He added, however, that after 10 years as the top UN official, he is “more convinced than ever that we have the power to end war, poverty and persecution.“---------------------------------------------------- Serve your people. Do not subvert democracy; do not pilfer your country's resources; do not imprison and torture your critics. “We have the means to prevent conflict. We have the potential to close the gap between rich and poor, and to make rights real in people´s lives,“ he underscored.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Secretary-General´s opening address, which draws from his yearly report on the work of the Organization, stressed that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a path to a better future, and that with the Paris Agreement on climate change, the “defining challenge“ of our time can be tackled.------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Ban underlined that the world continues to confront complex security threats from armed conflict to radicalization which compounded by governance failures, have pushed societies past the brink and threatened social cohesion.Outlining, in particular, the conflict in Syria, where so many innocent people have been killed by a number of groups, including the Government, the Secretary-General said: “Just when we think it cannot get any worse, the bar of depravity sinks lower.“