UN-New Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon takes helm of the United Nations
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New York, Jan 1, IRNA
The first Asian diplomat Ban Ki-moon took helm of the United Nations in 35 years since Burma's U Tant who served for 10 years from 1961 to 1971.
The 62-year-old career diplomat, who grew up during a war that left his country divided, has promised to make peace with North Korea a top priority.
He said he will travel there when necessary and cautioned that the reclusive communist nation must be talked to and not just punished with sanctions for conducting a nuclear test.
In a speech after taking the oath of office as secretary-general on December 14, Ban said he will also work to strengthen the three pillars of the United Nations - security, development and human rights - to build "a more peaceful, more prosperous and more just world for succeeding generations."
In pursuing that goal, he said, "my first priority will be to restore trust" in the United Nations, whose reputation has been battered by the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq, corruption in the UN's purchasing operations.
"I will seek to act as a harmonizer and bridge-builder," Ban said.
"And I hope to become known as a secretary-general who is accessible, hard-working, and prepared to listen attentively." He announced his first two appointments - veteran Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar, who has been a special adviser to Annan, as his chief of staff, and award-winning Haitian journalist Michele Montas, the head of the French unit of U.N. Radio, as his spokesperson.
Ban said in a statement Sunday that he will be making more appointments in the coming days.
The most important will be his choice for deputy secretary-general widely expected to be a woman from a developing country.
The new secretary-general's first day at U.N. headquarters will be Tuesday when he plans to hold a meeting with U.N. staff after an official welcome and sit for his official portrait.
South Korea which only joined the United Nations in 1991 and still has U.N. troops on the tense border with North Korea.
In his acceptance speech to the General Assembly in October, Ban said it was "quite fitting" that an Asian had been selected to lead the United Nations.
"Asia is dynamic and diverse, and Asia aspires to take on greater responsibilities for the world," he said. "Having come so far and rising still, the region is living and shaping the full range of achievements and challenges of our current times."
Ban noted that modesty is a virtue in Asia but that doesn't mean a lack of commitment or leadership.
"Rather, it is quiet determination in action to get things done without so much fanfare," he said.
"This may be the key to Asia's success, and to the U.N.'s future." "We should be more modest in our words, but not in our performance," Ban said.
"The true measure of success for the U.N. is not how much we promise, but how much we deliver for those who need us most."
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