‘If we work and build together,’ a more sustainable world will be a safer world, Ban says in California

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon continued his programme in California today, where he received an honorary doctorate from Loyola Marymount University, after addressing yesterday the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, where he gave the audience an overview of United Nations efforts to meet today’s global challenges, from humanitarian crises to climate change to sustainable development.

Recalling his visit last week at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, he said that he had met a Syrian girl who told him she wanted to become an interpreter. He also met a Syrian boy who was yearning to return to school.

“I was deeply moved by the way they held on to their dreams. Today, those dreams number in the millions. Half the world’s refugees are children – 30 million boys and girls whose lives have been put on hold, who have seen things a child should never have to see,” said Mr. Ban.

He stressed that in his talks with world leaders he has encouraged them to show greater solidarity to refugees – not just through relief, but through resettlement and other legal pathways. He said that, when managed properly, accepting refugees is a win for everyone.

“Today, we need your engagement more than ever. This is a time of turbulence in world affairs, Mr. Ban said, stressing however that despite multiple crises and daily outrages “that defy our common humanity, this is also a decisive moment when we can set the world on a safer, better path.”

Drawing attention to the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis, as well as to conflicts in Syria, South Sudan and Afghanistan, the Secretary-General noted that UN diplomatic efforts are bringing hope to people in conflict-torn regions.

At the same time, the UN is looking to tackle the deeper roots of today’s crises, and in that regard, the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, which he will convene in Istanbul on 23 and 24 May, will be an opportunity to address that issue, “and to improve our global response.”

“Across the world, the United Nations is helping countries to turn their backs on conflict. Peacekeeping deployments are at their highest in a generation – 16 operations and more than 100,000 troops and police,” he said, adding that the soldiers and police are serving in some of the most difficult places in the world – locations where no single country can, or will, go on its own – places where, without UN forces, there would be dangerous security vacuums.

“In the broadest sense, our aim is to leave no one behind,” he continued, noting that this is the promise at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

That landmark achievement approved by world leaders last September is a 15-year blueprint to end global poverty, fight inequality promote the rule of law and build peaceful societies.

“Women’s empowerment is a key thread running through the goals,” he said, adding that climate action will also be critical. To that end, with the adoption of the historic Paris Agreement, for the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb their emissions.

“On April 22nd, I will host the signing ceremony for the agreement at UN Headquarters. I am pleased that both the United States and China have announced their intention to sign on the first day it is open for signature. We have a long way to go – but the trajectory is clear,” the UN chief said.