By NNN-KUNA,
United Nations : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged member states to join forces to face the new challenges facing the world, reminding them that selfishness will be “tragic.”
“I see a danger of nations looking more inward, rather than toward a shared future…I would not be doing my job if I do not point out how dangerous it is to pretend that the United Nations can solve today’s complex problems without the full backing of member states,” he told the General Assembly as the annual general debate opened Tuesday.
“The challenges before us are our creation. Therefore we can solve them, together. By acting wisely and with responsibility, we will set the stage for a new era of global prosperity, more widely and equitably shared,” he added.
He expressed regret that the world is witnissing a deepening violence in many nations that can least afford it, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan. “This is not right. This is not just. We can do something about it. And with strong global leadership, we will,” he said.
Other issues requiring global leadership, he said, is to fight terrorism and promote disarmament and non-proliferation. “I call again on Iran to comply with Security Council resolutions and cooperate fully with the Internatioanl Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”
He said the Security Council “cannot continue to pass resolutions mandating ambitious peace operations without the necessary troops, money and material,” in reference to the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), where the UN faces a continuing challenge in meeting deployment deadlines and “we still lack critical assets and personnel.”
“If not matched by resources, mandates are empty,” he stressed.