UN Secretary-General-designate Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the
next Secretary-General to succeed Kofi Annan at an oath of office
ceremony in the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
Witnessed by high-ranking diplomats of member states and senior UN
officials, Ban repeated the oath after current General Assembly
president Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa.
"I, Ban Ki-moon, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty,
discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to me as
Secretary-General of the United Nations, to discharge these
functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United
Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in
regard to the performance of my duties from any Government or other
authority external to the Organization."
Addressing the ceremony, Ban pledged to act as a harmonizer and
bridge-builder in the UN's endeavor to build a more peaceful,
prosperous and just world.
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that our United
Nations can live up to its name, and be truly united; so that we
can live up to the hopes that so many people around the world place
in this institution, which is unique in the annals of human
history," he said.
He said that by strengthening the three pillars of the United
Nations, security, development and human rights, the international
community could build a more peaceful, more prosperous and more
just world for succeeding generations. "As we pursue our collective
endeavor to reach that goal, my first priority will be to restore
trust," he added.
He stated that one of his core tasks would be to breathe new life
and inject renewed confidence into the sometimes weary Secretariat,
and seek to set the highest ethical standard.
"I hope to become known to all of you-Member States and staff
alike - as a Secretary-General who is accessible, hard-working and
prepared to listen attentively," he added.
(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)
