Ban Ki-moon says UN offers hope to the world ahead of General Assembly

Heads of state and government from around the world will converge on New York next Wednesday for the opening of the 66th United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting of the General Assembly will be highlighting issues such as counter-terrorism, global health, sustainable energy and nuclear safety and security. Special sessions will also be held on Libya and the Horn of Africa, in particular Somalia.

Speaking at UN headquarters on Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the world was facing a period of instability.

“We face an extraordinary array of geopolitical and humanitarian challenges – famine in Somalia, the aftershocks of the Arab Spring, ongoing conflicts in some countries and difficult transitions in others. All this is in addition to the deeper political, economic and environmental transformations that are reshaping our world,” he said.

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