Ban to discuss global challenges with heads of universities at Yale summit

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be travelling to New Haven, Connecticut, on Thursday to take part in a two-day summit of global educators hosted by Yale University, a spokesperson for the United Nations announced today.

The Global Colloquium of University Presidents was launched five years ago by Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. It aims to foster greater dialogue among global education leaders on common concerns and challenges.

UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said that Mr. Ban will be participating in the discussion on “The Roles of Science in Meeting Global Challenges” while at the gathering.

Then on Friday, the Secretary-General will speak at the Stanley Foundation retreat in Tarrytown, New York, on the responsibility to protect.

Agreed to by world leaders in 2005, the responsibility to protect – sometimes known as ‘R2P’ – holds States responsible for shielding their own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and related crimes against humanity, requiring the international community to step in if this obligation is not met.