Ban Ki-moon quotes

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean diplomat who served as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Known for his emphasis on climate change and sustainable development, he played a pivotal role in global diplomacy. He continues to advocate for peace, human rights, and environmental protection worldwide. Here are 19 of his quotes:

Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth... these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women's empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.

Ban Ki-moon

One of my earliest memories is walking up a muddy road into the mountains. It was raining. Behind me, my village was burning. When there was school, it was under a tree. Then the United Nations came. They fed me, my family, my community.

Ban Ki-moon

Climate change is destroying our path to sustainability. Ours is a world of looming challenges and increasingly limited resources. Sustainable development offers the best chance to adjust our course.

Ban Ki-moon

Malala is a brave and gentle advocate of peace who through the simple act of going to school became a global teacher. She said one pen can change the world - and proved how one young woman can lead the way.

Ban Ki-moon

Our world is one of terrible contradictions. Plenty of food but one billion people go hungry. Lavish lifestyles for a few, but poverty for too many others. Huge advances in medicine while mothers die everyday in childbirth... Billions spent on weapons to kill people instead of keeping them safe.

Ban Ki-moon

[Conchita Wurst] She is an incredible singer and entertainer. But what made her win so meaningful was the way she turned her victory in the Song Contest into an electrifying moment of human rights education. Conchita is promoting respect for diversity. This is a core value of the United Nations Charter, along with our commitment to tolerance. She confounds people's preconceived ideas of gender and sexuality - and she appeals to them to accept her as she is. That is a powerful message. I am delighted she is using her talent and the Eurovision platform to take this message to a global audience.

Ban Ki-moon

Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance.

Ban Ki-moon

Climate change does not respect border; it does not respect who you are - rich and poor, small and big. Therefore, this is what we call global challenges, which require global solidarity.

Ban Ki-moon

One of the main lessons I have learned during my five years as Secretary-General is that broad partnerships are the key to solving broad challenges. When governments, the United Nations, businesses, philanthropies and civil society work hand-in-hand, we can achieve great things.

Ban Ki-moon

Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyones responsibility.

Ban Ki-moon

To measure the success of our societies, we should examine how well those with different abilities, including persons with autism, are integrated as full and valued members.

Ban Ki-moon

The clear and present danger of climate change means we cannot burn our way to prosperity. We already rely too heavily on fossil fuels. We need to find a new, sustainable path to the future we want. We need a clean industrial revolution.

Ban Ki-moon

I am disturbed by how states abuse laws on Internet access. I am concerned that surveillance programmes are becoming too aggressive. I understand that national security and criminal activity may justify some exceptional and narrowly-tailored use of surveillance. But that is all the more reason to safeguard human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Ban Ki-moon

I was profoundly moved to be the first United Nations Secretary-General to attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima. I also visited Nagasaki. Sadly, we know the terrible humanitarian consequences from the use of even one weapon. As long as such weapons exist, so, too, will the risks of use and proliferation.

Ban Ki-moon

Gender equality and women's empowerment have been a top priority for me from day one as Secretary-General. And I am committed to making sure that the U.N. leads by example.

Ban Ki-moon

Climate change, demographics, water, food, energy, global health, women's empowerment - these issues are all intertwined. We cannot look at one strand in isolation. Instead, we must examine how these strands are woven together.

Ban Ki-moon

When we stand together, there is no limit to what we can achieve. Three days ago, young people from many nations stood together in the balcony of this Hall. They asked for one thing above all: change. There is nothing we can say to the world's children that can convince them the world needs to be the way it is. That means we must do everything we can to close the gap between the world as it is, and the world as it should be. That is the mission of the United Nations.

Ban Ki-moon