UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon - "Global" leader

(Baonghean) - The migration crisis in Asia and Europe, the civil war in Yemen and the tense developments in the East Sea... have always been "hot spots" that have received special attention from world public opinion in recent days. Although the problems are different and occur on different continents, there is one factor that is never absent in these "hot spots" - the United Nations. Constantly appearing with warnings, calls, and proposed solutions - that is the image of the "global" leader Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

"Savior" of migrants

In both Europe and Southeast Asia, illegal migration has been going on for years. But it was truly recognized as a crisis, an urgent issue after a “trigger”. If in Europe, the “trigger” was the sinking of a ship off the Mediterranean that killed nearly 900 people, then in Southeast Asia, the “trigger” was the discovery by Thai police of a mass grave believed to be of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh at a location in Songkhla province, bordering Malaysia. As soon as the migration issue was recognized as a crisis requiring urgent measures, the United Nations was present. People cannot forget the miserable situation of thousands of migrants stranded on smugglers’ boats in the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca in mid-May. At that time, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand all refused to accept the migrants. If any boat drifts into the waters of these countries, the people on board are only given food, water, and necessary medical assistance before being pushed back out to sea, continuing their journey without knowing where the shore is. United Nations agencies have called on the three countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand to stop preventing migrant boats from docking, which contributed greatly to the decision of Malaysia and Indonesia to provide temporary shelters for migrants stranded at sea on the condition that these people can be resettled or repatriated within 1 year. Although not a radical solution, this is considered the first breakthrough after many weeks of countries in the region being unwilling to take responsibility. Most recently, on May 27, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, through his special advisor on Myanmar - Mr. Vijay Nambiar, pledged to cooperate in solving the situation of illegal migration.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his visit to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the peninsula, Europe also received no less attention from Mr. Ban Ki Moon on the issue of illegal migration. Continuously in the last days of May, in any meeting in Europe, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon did not forget to call for stronger action from the continent in the search and rescue campaign for migrants in the Mediterranean. During his visit to the European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels (Belgium) on the afternoon of May 27, Mr. Ban Ki-moon emphasized that the EU needs to focus on saving the lives of migrants at sea when dealing with the issue of illegal immigration, and also emphasized that the EU is in dire need of immigrants to compensate for the low population growth rate and the aging population. Previously, in a press conference in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, Mr. Ban Ki-moon also called on European leaders to look at the migration issue in a more comprehensive and focused way. The UN chief's tireless efforts have paid off as the EU's Frontex border agency said it would expand search and rescue operations and double or even triple the resources used in current migrant assistance operations.

Cooling down the "fire pan" of Yemen

Bringing hope to tens of thousands of refugees, and that is also what people hope that Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the world's largest international organization that he is leading can bring to millions of Yemenis. 1,850 people killed, more than 7,000 injured, more than 545,000 people displaced - what Yemenis have suffered in the past 3 months will not stop at these numbers if the conflicting parties have not found a diplomatic solution. With a war that has religious colors not only internally but also at the regional level, people are waiting for a more active role of the United Nations as an intermediary, independent of the air strikes of the Arab coalition in Yemen. Up to this point, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has still made every effort to show that role. In mid-May, with the mediation of the United Nations, the warring parties in Yemen reached a temporary ceasefire for 5 days, and that short period of time is extremely valuable to solve humanitarian problems for the Yemeni people such as moving people out of the war zone, providing food, medicine, etc. Of course, Mr. Ban Ki-moon's goal does not stop there. What he wants is to bring the parties to the negotiating table to find a peaceful solution for this Middle Eastern country. Although the negotiations scheduled for May 28 could not take place due to the conditions set by both the Houthi rebels and the government of exiled President Mansour Hadi, Mr. Ban Ki-moon certainly will not give up. On May 27, he called on the United Nations special envoy on the situation in Yemen, Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to "redouble his consultation efforts" to organize a conference on the situation in Yemen as soon as possible.

Don't "take your eyes off" the East Sea

In recent days, China's continuous large-scale reclamation, renovation, and construction activities, which have changed the status quo of many islands, rocks, and shoals, have stirred up international public opinion. A series of high-ranking officials from countries such as the US, Australia, and the Philippines have expressed concern about these actions of China, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is no exception. During his visit and work in Vietnam last weekend, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shared the views and deep concerns of Vietnam, ASEAN, and G7 countries about China's actions - actions that violate international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, DOC, erode trust between countries, and seriously threaten peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea and the region. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes that relevant parties will engage in dialogue and peacefully resolve disputes in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that ASEAN countries and China will soon reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). Mr. Ban Ki-moon also affirmed that the UN is ready to support this issue if relevant parties request it, and said that he is personally ready to participate in multilateral discussions on this issue.

So far, have the migrants at sea been safe? Have the Yemenis enjoyed a peaceful life? Has the East Sea been “calm”? No, all these thorny issues have not yet had a final solution. But on the difficult journey of countries and regions to reach the final destination, people always see the figure of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In a meeting with the press at the end of 2014, Mr. Ban Ki-moon said: “Have a global vision. It does not matter which country you come from, the passport only serves administrative purposes.” Perhaps, that is the advice he gives himself, to “stretch himself” in every hot spot of the world with the image of a “global” leader.

Thuy Ngoc