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Building better world for 7 billion citizens
By Ban Ki-moon |
September 28, 2011, Wednesday
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LATE next month, a child will be born - the 7th billion citizen of planet Earth.
We will never know the circumstances into which he or she was born. We do know that the baby will enter a world of vast and unpredictable change - environmental, economic, geopolitical, technological, and demographic.
The world's population has tripled since the United Nations was created in 1945. And our numbers keep growing, with corresponding pressures on land, energy, food, and water.
The global economy is generating pressures as well: rising joblessness, widening social inequalities, and the emergence of new economic powers.
These trends link the fate and future of today's seven billion people as never before. No nation alone can solve the great global challenges of the 21st century. International cooperation is a universal need.
The 66th session of the UN General Assembly is a renewed opportunity for the countries of the world to set aside narrow, short-term interests and commit to cooperative efforts to address humanity's long-term imperatives.
At a time when all nations are experiencing individual challenges, we need to forge a worldwide common agenda that can help to ensure that the seven billionth baby and future generations grow up in a world characterized by sustainable peace, prosperity, freedom, and justice.
To help create this future, I am focusing my second term as Secretary-General on five global imperatives - five generational opportunities to shape the world of tomorrow by the decisions we make today.
The first and greatest of these imperatives is sustainable development.
We all must understand that saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, and advancing economic growth are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security, and women's empowerment.
Prevention as a framework for international cooperation is a second opportunity.
This year, the UN peacekeeping budget will total US$8 billion. Think of what we could save by avoiding conflicts - by deploying political mediation missions, for example, rather than troops.
A third imperative is building a safer and more secure world.
The fourth big opportunity is supporting countries in transition.
Last but not least is the imperative of working with and for women and young people. Women hold up more than half the sky and represent much of the world's unrealized potential. We need their full engagement - in government, business, and civil society.
The UN has placed a high priority on promoting women at all levels of the organization and this year, for the first time, UN Women is operating to promote the interests and rights of women all over the world.
Seven billion people now look toward the United Nations for solutions to the world's great global challenges. They hold different religions and backgrounds but common dreams and aspirations.
Our global future depends on bringing these individual talents and universal rights together in common cause. Let our common agenda begin.
Ban Ki-moon is Secretary-General of the United Nations. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2011. www.project-syndicate.org. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
We will never know the circumstances into which he or she was born. We do know that the baby will enter a world of vast and unpredictable change - environmental, economic, geopolitical, technological, and demographic.
The world's population has tripled since the United Nations was created in 1945. And our numbers keep growing, with corresponding pressures on land, energy, food, and water.
The global economy is generating pressures as well: rising joblessness, widening social inequalities, and the emergence of new economic powers.
These trends link the fate and future of today's seven billion people as never before. No nation alone can solve the great global challenges of the 21st century. International cooperation is a universal need.
The 66th session of the UN General Assembly is a renewed opportunity for the countries of the world to set aside narrow, short-term interests and commit to cooperative efforts to address humanity's long-term imperatives.
At a time when all nations are experiencing individual challenges, we need to forge a worldwide common agenda that can help to ensure that the seven billionth baby and future generations grow up in a world characterized by sustainable peace, prosperity, freedom, and justice.
To help create this future, I am focusing my second term as Secretary-General on five global imperatives - five generational opportunities to shape the world of tomorrow by the decisions we make today.
The first and greatest of these imperatives is sustainable development.
We all must understand that saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, and advancing economic growth are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security, and women's empowerment.
Prevention as a framework for international cooperation is a second opportunity.
This year, the UN peacekeeping budget will total US$8 billion. Think of what we could save by avoiding conflicts - by deploying political mediation missions, for example, rather than troops.
A third imperative is building a safer and more secure world.
The fourth big opportunity is supporting countries in transition.
Last but not least is the imperative of working with and for women and young people. Women hold up more than half the sky and represent much of the world's unrealized potential. We need their full engagement - in government, business, and civil society.
The UN has placed a high priority on promoting women at all levels of the organization and this year, for the first time, UN Women is operating to promote the interests and rights of women all over the world.
Seven billion people now look toward the United Nations for solutions to the world's great global challenges. They hold different religions and backgrounds but common dreams and aspirations.
Our global future depends on bringing these individual talents and universal rights together in common cause. Let our common agenda begin.
Ban Ki-moon is Secretary-General of the United Nations. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2011. www.project-syndicate.org. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
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