Ban Ki-moon

15 June 2008 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Saudi Arabia will increase its oil production next month by 200,000 barrels a day.

Mr. Ban says he learned of the Saudi plan to raise oil output again from Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia already increased its oil production by 300,000 barrels a day this month, compared to May, to meet growing demand from customers. The additional increase would raise total Saudi production to nine-point-seven million barrels a day.

Mr. Ban was speaking after a visit to the Saudi city of Jeddah, where he met Saturday with Saudi King Abdullah. The U.N. chief says they discussed global concerns about the rising price of oil and its impact on the cost of food.    » read more »

30 May 2008 -- Delegates from 111 countries have formally adopted a comprehensive ban on cluster bombs.

The treaty comes at the close of a 12-day meeting Friday in Dublin and bans the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. It requires signatories to destroy their stocks within eight years and to assist in clearing contaminated areas.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the development and urged all countries to sign the pact without delay.

The United States - one of the world's largest cluster bomb makers - opposes a ban. It boycotted the Dublin conference, along with Israel, Russia, China, India and Pakistan.    » read more »

May 27, 2008 -- Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s message for World Environment Day 2008, to be observed on 5 June:

Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Meets Earthquake Rescuers, China: UN Photo/Evan Schneider    » read more »

14 May 2008 -- With senior ministers gathered in New York for high-level talks on sustainable development, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for a “second green revolution” that would embrace innovative agricultural methods, produce enough food to feed the burgeoning global population, and promote eco-friendly urban and rural development, especially in Africa.    » read more »

12 May 2008 -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is frustrated by the Burmese government's handling of the humanitarian crisis in the cyclone-devastated country. He is urging the military government to increase access for international relief efforts, warning that further delays could set the country back years.

Mr. Ban expressed his frustration with the pace of relief efforts in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

"Today is the 11th day since Typhoon Nargis hit Myanmar," he said. "I want to register my deep concern and immense frustration at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis."    » read more »

Message For World Water Day

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message on World Water Day, to be observed on 22 March:

This year, World Water Day coincides with the International Year of Sanitation, challenging us to spur action on a crisis affecting more than one out of three people on the planet.

Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of the abysmal sanitation conditions endured by some 2.6 billion people globally. That adds up to an unconscionable 1.5 million young lives cut short by a cause we know well how to prevent.    » read more »

11 February 2008 -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened a two-day conference on addressing climate change Monday at the United Nations, urging international action this year on the issue. Some 100 countries are participating in the debate, along with members of the private sector, civil society and individuals from around the world.    » read more »

30 January 2008 -- The United Nations estimates there are more than a quarter million children worldwide who are being drawn into armed conflict as child soldiers. Internally displaced children living in camps are at special risk.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in his annual report to the Security Council that internal displacement and the recruitment of children as soldiers are closely linked. Refugee and IDP camps are prime recruiting grounds due to the concentration of vulnerable children in them.    » read more »

17 January 2008 -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the reduction in violence across Iraq and urged similar progress in the political arena.

In a report to the Security Council Wednesday, Mr. Ban said "improvements in the political arena" are necessary to sustain recent gains in the security situation.

Mr. Ban expressed disappointment at the political process in Iraq, saying it "has not shown the degree of progress that many had hoped for."    » read more »

Secretary-General Urges Breakthrough In Bali

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s address to the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, today, 12 December:

Let me thank the Government and people of Indonesia for hosting us, and all of you for being here.    » read more »

10 December 2007 -- Industrialized nations have been blamed for a large percentage of the emissions said to be causing global warming, but U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says it is time for developing nations to take more responsibility for combating climate change. Mr. Ban spoke in Bangkok on his way to climate change talks in Bali.

Nations such as China and India have resisted wider emissions control out of fear that new regulations will hamper the fast-growing industries that power their breakneck economic growth.    » read more »

10 November 2007 -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that after seeing the effect of climate change on Antarctica, he believes the world is "on the verge of a catastrophe."

Mr. Ban flew to a Chilean Air Force base Friday for a briefing with scientists on the world's southernmost continent. He also took an aerial tour of the famous Collins Glaciers, and visited the Antarctic research bases of Uruguay and South Korea, his home country.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. –United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today told U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that it would mean a great deal to the fight against global warming if President Bush would attend a special high-level meeting on the topic at United Nations headquarters in New York on September 24, 2007.    » read more »

25 June 2007 -- The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by, and condemns in the strongest possible terms, the terrorist attack on a United Nations patrol in south Lebanon yesterday that killed six and injured two other United Nations peacekeepers belonging to the Spanish contingent. He calls for a full investigation into this very disturbing incident and hopes that the Government of Lebanon will succeed in its efforts to bring to justice those responsible.    » read more »