WASHINGTON- UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Wednesday at a lecture in Massachusetts, .S., challenged the global community to confront world’s existential threats.
He said this has become imperative because the world today faces an increasing array of threats to peaceful coexistence from climate change, conflicts, poverty and disease, all of which loom over the future of the planet’s physical survival.
Ban said the world stood at the cusp of momentous change, both as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approach their 2015 deadline and as the UN prepares to mark its 70th anniversary.
He said “for almost 15 years, the world has pursued the Millennium Development Goals, and the gains have been remarkable. But there is a long way to go.
“We are determined to finish the job of the MDGs.’’
Ban noted that there was urgent need to also address emerging issues such as inequality.
He added that there was a plan for the new goals to include critical factors that were not part of the MDG framework, such as building peaceful societies with responsive, accountable institutions.
The UN scribe noted that while the present global population was the first generation that could bring an end to poverty, it also remained the last with the possibility of slowing global warming before it becomes too late.
“We need all countries to come together to secure a new climate agreement next year in Paris; we need individuals to do their part through the choices they make, from voting booths to grocery stores,” he said.
The secretary-general also said that beyond climate change, the planet’s existential threats remained numerous and insidious and warned of constant danger posed by the world’s nuclear arsenals.
He said “the world remains over-armed and peace is underfunded.’’
He also commended the “important work” done so far to keep fissile materials from reaching terrorists or other hostile actors, stressing, however, that “ultimately, there are no right hands for wrong weapons.
“People are asking why the nuclear powers are spending vast sums to modernise arsenals instead of eliminating them, which they committed to do under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).’’
Ban then asked; “where are their disarmament plans, they do not exist?.’’
He assured that nevertheless, efforts were underway to reduce global nuclear footprint as governments and civil society prepared to gather in Vienna next week in an effort to challenge the belief that nuclear weapons should be valued as rational basis for defence and national prestige. (PANA/NAN)