The milestones

Poverty, climate change, armaments: these seem to be the issues that most torment the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon . Having arrived in Strasbourg (France) on 19 October, the South Korean diplomat first went to the headquarters of the Council of Europe to participate in the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the European Human Rights Convention; he then moved to the building next door, where he gave a wide-ranging speech to the European Parliament. The European “locomotive”. “Wherever there are people who are hungry, we must do something. It’s our duty”, declared Ban Ki-moon, who gave speeches in the main institutional seats in Strasbourg, but also set aside time to meet journalists, who pressed him on questions concerning the Middle East, Cyprus, famine in the world, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Chechnya (on the order of the day due to the terrorist attack on the Chechen parliament in Grozny), migration, energy sources, and the Millennium Development Goals. The UN Secretary has high expectations of the European Union: “The EU Parliament – he said – can do a lot, by continuing its action and raising its voice in favour of total disarmament”. He then touched on the question of climate change: “At Copenhagen many promises were made and they need to be kept. The industrialized countries, in particular, must assume a leading role” in environmental protection, by limiting sources of pollution and preventing ecological disasters whose impact would especially be felt by the populations of the poor countries. “European leadership in this field is essential. The EU can be the locomotive of this train that has stopped”. Immediately his attention turned to the forthcoming summit at Cancun (Mexico) which will have the task of re-addressing the questions that were raised in the Danish capital last year but have remained unresolved. Global solidarity. But Ban Ki-moon also sees the need to invest, to “construct”: “Mankind has a need for sustainable growth, based on jobs, know-how and innovation. The sources of alternative energy need to be exploited”. “The great challenges by which we are faced concern us all and must therefore be tackled together, and to do that the only road to take is that of global solidarity”. “We need – said the UN Secretary General – to bridge the divisions, heal the injustices, and, on the level of immigration, what’s needed is a real will to achieve integration. Inclusion can only be promoted if we work with an attitude of tolerance; today this is all the more necessary because in a globalized world population mobility is inevitable, it’s a fact of life. Whoever arrives in a new country must be accepted, but at the same time must respect its laws, customs and culture”. Then, without any visible discomposure, without ever altering the tone of his voice, with the gentle good manners typical of the Far East, he used harsh words: “Don’t believe the populists. We mustn’t let ourselves be carried away by suspicion. There are those who deliberately foment people’s fears, creating hatred and mistrust”. Human rights, peace and coexistence remain the milestones of UN diplomacy. From Cyprus to Beijing. Another series of questions were put to Ban Ki-moon. When will the division of Cyprus be removed? “We are striving to facilitate a clear dialogue between the interested parties. All the aspects of the problems have been examined in Cyprus over the last two years; now the time has come for a compromise. But in Cyprus what’s needed above all, I think, is a common project between the two halves of the island”. What do you think of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo? “I’ve already said on several occasions that it’s an important recognition. Respect for human rights knows no frontiers and must go hand in hand with development and democracy. But I think we must equally recognize that China in recent years has made great progress in wresting millions of people from poverty”. So, only a half reply, or perhaps only a “diplomatic” reply, by someone who cannot permit himself to burn his bridges with Beijing. Equality and justice. The questions revert to Europe. “United Nations and European Union are natural allies”, declared the UN Secretary General. “What goes for the UNO can be traced in the fundamental values of EU integration, namely peace, rights, economic growth, social development, freedom, protection of the most vulnerable, and international opening”. Indeed, the former South Korean Foreign Minister seemed almost to be calling the EU to an alliance for progress and justice. He then recalled the urgent need to take effective measures to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals: “It’s always good to compare our views to proceed towards a better world”. The poverty that still remains widespread in the four corners of the planet, disease, lack of food and water returned again and again in the words of Ban Ki-moon who, perhaps moved, declared: “Our task is to ensure equal opportunities to every person, wherever he or she is born, and of whatever nationality he or she is”.