Ban Ki-moon reflects on ten years as UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon will end ten years as Secretary-General of the United Nations on Dec. 31.

Ban will spend his last moments in the role pushing the Waterford crystal button in Times Square. “Millions of people will be watching as I lose my job,” he said in a speech to his staff today.

READ MORE: Antonio Guterres sworn in as UN Secretary-General, will replace Ban Ki-moon

It has been a busy month for the secretary-general. Alongside final interviews and ceremonies to honour him, there was a controversial Security Council resolution to end Israeli settlements, efforts to avoid genocide in South Sudan, and the ongoing war in Syria.

“Aleppo is now a synonym for hell,” he said to reporters earlier in December. The war that engulfed that city, and Syria for six years, stands out for him.

To the General Assembly in September he said: “My deepest regret on leaving office is the continuing nightmare in Syria.”

WATCH: Ban Ki-moon says United Nations has failed the people of Syria

0:42 Ban Ki-moon says United Nations has failed the people of Syria

Admitting fault

In his last year, Ban Ki-moon attempted to address some of the UN’s failings.

He apologized to the people of Haiti for the UN’s handling of the 2010 cholera outbreak. The organization refused initial calls to investigate, and denied wrongdoing. Eventual investigations and reports pointed to a UN base as the source of infected waste which contaminated rivers. According to a UN fact sheet, the outbreak has affected an estimated 780,000 people and killed over 9,100.

READ MORE: Hurricane Matthew: Why a distrust in aid groups may impact Haiti relief efforts

Allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic shocked the Secretary General and led to an investigation this year. The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services identified 16 perpetrators and 139 victims, 25 of whom were minors. Measures to address the problem were implemented, including court marshals for perpetrators and a victim’s assistance fund.

Ambitious achievements

“I may have to leave many things unfulfilled,” the secretary-general told UN News in his final interview on Dec. 22.  But he emphasized the positives. He said the Paris Agreement on climate change and the establishment of Sustainable Development Goals were “important, ambitious and far-reaching achievements.”

The Paris Agreement has 197 parties committed to curb emissions and address climate change. Ban Ki-moon said it represents a new era of global cooperation. That cooperation is in jeopardy if president-elect Donald Trump pulls the U.S. out of the agreement. After tweeting on Nov. 6 that climate change was a concept created by the Chinese, Trump told the New York Times later that month that he has an ‘open mind” on the issue and there is “some connectivity” between human activity and climate change. Canada ratified the Paris Agreement in Parliament in October.

READ MORE: UN chief hopeful Donald Trump will change his mind about climate change

The General Assembly adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 after 15 years of the Millennium Development Goals. These new goals are benchmarks for the 193 member countries to end poverty, provide inclusive and equitable education, and achieve gender equality, by 2030.

Bringing children hope

“Without the United Nations I would not be standing here today as the Secretary-General,” Ban said. UN troops and aid were present in Korea when he was a boy. He said he tried to make sure children do not face the challenges of poverty and war that he experienced.

“I told them, do not despair. I was you and you can be me. You can become Secretary-General of the United Nations. Do not despair because we will be with you just as the United Nations was with me.”

The road ahead

Ban Ki-moon’s name is being floated as a presidential candidate in South Korea. 29 lawmakers left the ruling Saenuri Party on Dec. 27, dissatisfied with impeached President Park Geun-hye, and hope to create a new party which he could lead.

When the ball drops in New York’s Times Square, António Guterres will become the UN’s ninth Secretary-General. His five-year term ends in 2021. Guterres is a former two-term Portuguese prime minister and former head of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees.