São Paulo – The secretary general of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon, announced on Tuesday (26) that he is going to travel to the Middle East next week to participate in peace talks with Israel and Palestine. According to the UN, Ki-moon plans to "encourage" talks. He is going to visit Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and Jordan, where peace talks take place.
“I will be there to encourage both sides to re-engage in earnest and create a positive atmosphere for moving forward [in the talks],” said the secretary general. Israelis and Palestinians returned to talks for the peace process early this month, in Amman, with the support of Jordanian king Abdullah and the country’s Foreign minister, Nasser Judeh.
Talks had been interrupted since September 2010 as the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, refused to negotiate while the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not interrupt the construction of settlements in the Palestinian territories. “My visit comes at an important moment,” said Ki-moon.
Plans
On Thursday (25), the secretary general detailed the plans for his second term ahead of the organisation. He said that he desires to “annihilate” five diseases: malaria, polio, neonatal and maternal tetanus, paediatric infections due to HIV and measles. He also aims to nominate a representative for youths and to make the Antarctic into a global natural reserve. “A plan to help create a safer, more secure, more sustainable, more equitable future. A plan to build the future we want,” said Ki-moon, who called, most of all, for special attention to the needs of Africa.
The detailed targets announced by Ki-moon are included in the “five imperatives” of the United Nations for coming years: sustainable development; preventing and mitigating conflicts, human rights abuses and the impacts of natural disasters; building a safer and more secure world; supporting countries in transition; and working to engage the talents of women and young people.
*Translated by Mark Ament
