12 August 2011: Addressing students participating in the Third Global Model UN Conference as well as the diplomatic corps located in the Republic of Korea, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently emphasized the importance of sustainable development for the UN’s agenda and said it would be the top priority of his second term as Secretary-General.

On 11 August 2011, at the Model UN Conference held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, and organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), Ban called on university students from around the world to engage in efforts to create a more sustainable world. The theme of this year’s Conference is “Sustainable Development: Advancing Human Progress in Harmony with Nature.”

On 12 August, at a breakfast meeting with the diplomatic corps of the Republic of Korea, Ban thanked the diplomats and their Governments for supporting his re-election. He said there was a need to “connect the dots” between water, food, and energy, as well as development issues and international peace and security. He also provided a preview of his annual speech to UN member States, to be delivered in September 2011 at the 66th Session of the General Assembly. In addition to the immediate need to respond to the crisis in the Horn of Africa and its underlying causes, such as climate change, he noted the long-term importance of sustainable development. He reiterated that the matter is at the top of his list of priorities” and said this includes “making a great success” of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) in June 2012. Also on his list of priorities, he said, are: global and regional security, and democratization challenges; a new peacekeeping operation in South Sudan; making progress on human rights and the Responsibility to Protect; and improving the UN’s ability to “deliver as one” and work within limited resources, including by finding “better ways of doing business.” Finally, Ban noted the importance of partnerships between governments, NGOs, the private sector, philanthropists and the academic community. [Statement to Model UN Conference] [Statement to Diplomatic Breakfast] [UN News Centre Story on Diplomatic Breakfast] [Sustainable Development Policy & Practice Story on Ban’s Statement to Academic Impact Forum in Seoul, Republic of Korea]