UN Secretary-General: The horizon of hope is getting darker

In his opening remarks, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon painted a bleak picture of today's troubled world.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon speaks at the General Assembly (Photo: AFP).

The high-level debate of the United Nations General Assembly opened in New York on September 24 (local time) with calls for the international community to act quickly to address issues such as terrorism, epidemics and conflicts.

In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon painted a bleak picture of a troubled world and called on the international community to take urgent action to address challenges such as the brutality of the Islamic State, the Ebola epidemic in Africa and conflicts in the Middle East.

“The horizon of hope is growing darker. The past year has been a terrible year for the principles of the United Nations Charter. Human rights and the rule of law have been under attack, from bombings to beheadings, from deliberate starvation of civilians to attacks on UN hospitals, humanitarian facilities and convoys,” the UN chief said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that the rise of IS in Iraq and Syria as well as other terrorist organizations is a clear threat to world peace and security and therefore requires a comprehensive response from the international community.

Speaking at the opening session, US President Barack Obama asked world leaders to join hands to deal with a series of international crises that he described as a "web of death", from the rise of the Islamic State (IS) to the uncontrolled spread of the Ebola virus and the conflict in Ukraine.

According to Mr. Obama, the above problems require urgent attention, showing “symptoms” of a larger problem: the failure of the international system to adapt to the pace of a closely connected and interdependent world. President Obama emphasized the “cancer of violent extremism” in the Middle East that could derail the world’s future progress, and called on the Muslim community in the region to fight the threat of extremism and eliminate this ideology.

Mr. Obama said the United States will engage more deeply in the Middle East region through cooperation with a broad coalition to eliminate the IS network. Regarding the crisis in Ukraine, President Obama affirmed that the United States will lift current sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin agrees on a diplomatic solution to this conflict. Regarding the Asia-Pacific region, Mr. Obama made it clear that all countries, large or small, must have the responsibility to comply with and implement international standards.

"The United States is and will continue to be a Pacific power, promoting peace, stability and free trade among countries. We always emphasize that all countries need to comply with the law and resolve territorial disputes peacefully, in accordance with international law. That is the factor that creates the development of the Asia-Pacific region and is also the only way to protect and maintain this development," said Mr. Obama.

The UN General Assembly debate takes place from September 24 to 30 with the participation of more than 140 heads of state and senior leaders from around the world. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh will deliver a speech at the session on September 27.

According to VOV