Syria, South Sudan weigh on Ban Ki- moon at end of UN term

The UN's top diplomat
says his term at the
UN has seen violence
and conflicts around
the world continue
unabated, but that
many lives have also
changed for the
better.


His 10 years in
office end on January
1.
There have been more
moments of regret than
pride in accomplishments in
10 years at the United
Nations, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon said Friday as
he prepares to leave office
at the end of the year.
The carnage in Syria, the
risk of genocide in South
Sudan and maintaining
momentum on the Paris
climate change accord all
weighed on his mind, the
world's top diplomat said at
his last press conference at
UN headquarters in New
York.
Syria has left a "gaping hole
in the global conscience"
and "Aleppo is now a
synonym for hell," Ban said,
while the deteriorating
situation in South Sudan
now threatened to turn into
genocide. There is no
turning back on the Paris
climate change agreement
and it must be supported in
order to save humanity and
the environment, Ban said,
likely referring to US
president-elect Donald
Trump's position against
acting on climate change.
'Fires still burning'
From violence in Mali to
Yemen and the Central
African Republic, the "fires
are still burning" in
conflicts that seemingly
know no end due to narrow
political and personal
interests and a lack of
global solidarity, Ban told
reporters.
"This has been a decade of
unceasing test," Ban said,
reflecting on his 10 years at
the UN. "But I have also
seen collective action
change millions of lives for
the better."
"Difficult as it may
sometimes be, international
cooperation remains the
path to a more peaceful and
prosperous world," Ban
said.
South Korean politics
Ban also addressed
speculation he plans to run
for president in South
Korea, where President
Park Geun-hye was
impeached in a massive
corruption scandal that has
shaken the nation.
"I'll go back to Korea, then
I'll try to meet as many
people as possible, which
may include political
leaders, leaders of civil
society and my friends, and
I will really consider
seriously how best and
what I should and could do
for my country," Ban said.