UNITED NATIONS – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he’s disappointed by many world leaders who care more about retaining power than improving the lives of their people – and can’t understand why Syria is being held hostage to “the destiny” of one man, President Bashar Assad.
Nearing the end of his 10 years at the helm of the United Nations, Ban spoke frankly about the state of the world and his successes, failures and frustrations as UN chief in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.
Ban is the public face of the organization, but he said that in private leaders see a very different and much tougher side to him.
“People say I have been quiet, and I have not been speaking out about human rights, but I can tell you I have been speaking out (more) than any of the Western leaders” who “are very cautious,” he said. “You have not seen people as fearlessly speaking out as myself.”
Ban also spoke candidly about his frustration at the way the UN operates.
It’s unrealistic to expect any secretary-general “to be some almost almighty person,” he said, because the world body’s member states make decisions and the UN chief implements them – rather than implementing their own initiatives and policies, he said.
The UN could be far more efficient and effective if there were “some reasonable decision-making process” – not one that requires consensus on many issues before the General Assembly and statements by the Security Council, Ban said. This gives one country the power to block something all other nations agree on, or to water it down.
“Is it fair? Is it reasonable in the 21st century when you have 193 member states?” Ban said.
As an example, human rights groups have criticized the declaration set to be adopted at the UN summit on refugees and migrants on Monday, ahead of the General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders, because it was watered down to reach consensus. The result was the elimination of Ban’s proposal to resettle 10 percent of the world’s refugees annually.
Ban said member states have the power to change the consensus requirement easily and quickly.
In a recent interview over lunch, the secretary-general said his generation in South Korea was educated in the ancient Chinese teachings of Confucius, which emphasize harmony, humaneness, compassion, propriety and honesty. “And I have been putting public interest first, over private interest,” he said.
Comparing his approach to Western leaders, Ban said they usually speak through statements, which is easy, and sometimes they have pressured him not to say something or visit some country. But he said he “proceeded as I wanted” because he believes face-to-face meetings with world leaders are critical to try to get support on ending conflicts or on issues like climate change and combatting poverty.
“I’ve been saying, I can issue a hundred statements from here, but if you really want to get that apple dropped, you have to go and shake the apple tree,” he said.
If you wait under the tree “until the apple drops into your mouth, it may happen if you wait 20 years,” he said.
