UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday bid farewell to the international body where he has served for the last decade.
“I feel a bit like Cinderella. Tomorrow at midnight, everything changes!” he joked to staff and colleagues as he wrapped up a decade leading the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (front), bids farewell to the UN staff at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 30, 2016. /Xinhua Photo
He added that during the ten-year tenure at the UN, he has endeavored “to never give up. To keep dreaming, to keep believing, and to keep working hard until we achieve progress”.
Ban added that as UN chief, he also has been guided by a desire “to keep the focus on people — on people’s rights and people’s dignity and to stand up for those who are left behind.”
Ban told the crowd that he would join the New Year celebration at the Times Square in New York City on Saturday. He will push the button beginning the official 60-second countdown to the New Year, and call on people worldwide to take actions in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stands by his window as he poses for a portrait in his office at the United Nations Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York, October 21, 2016. /CFP Photo“Tomorrow night, on the eve of the New Year, I will be in Times Square for the ball drop — millions of people will be watching as I lose my job!” the outgoing UN leader teased.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday paid tribute to Ban Ki-moon, acknowledging his contribution to international peace, security and development.
The 15-nation council expressed its deep appreciation to Ban "for his dedication to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter and to the development of friendly relations among nations".
Ban’s successor Antonio Guterres, former Prime Minister of Portugal and UN Secretary-General-designate, will start his five-year term on Jan 1, 2017.
(This story has reporting elements from Xinhua News Agency)
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