Video statement: Reception honouring the human rights legacy and leadership of SG Ban Ki-Moon

1 December 2016

Excellencies and distinguished guests,
Secretary-General,

I am delighted to honour Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon's contributions to upholding the essential rights of all people around the world.

In steering the organization through a period of turbulence, and despite numerous constraints and difficulties, the Secretary General has reminded us that human rights are at the core of the UN Charter. All the Organisation's work, from development to peacekeeping, fighting pandemics, upholding equality and more, is far more effective when it is rooted in human rights principles.

Secretary-General, in your service to the world's people, you have been a bridge-builder, just as you pledged to be ten years ago. You have marked our young century with landmark agreements which promise a new future in which the scourge of extreme poverty and many other ills have been eliminated.

Your Human Rights Up Front initiative has upturned many timeworn habits within our Organisation. It boldly insists on the fundamental need to speak out and act to prevent human rights violations. It makes clear that all parts of the UN are always required to react with courage and principle, in line with human rights law, and must respond swiftly and appropriately to warning signals of escalating human rights crises.

Your advocacy has also had great impact on the struggle to end the death penalty, and the violence and discrimination endured by LGBTi people in many countries.

Your commitment to human rights may be grounded in your experiences as a small boy displaced from his home by conflict. Your ability to build coalitions has been nourished by decades of diplomatic service. Your commitment to a healthier planet, and your understanding of the core values of human rights, have deepened your service to the world’s people. I pay tribute to your determination to ensure that the achievements of this Organisation will be sustainable and will truly benefit all of humanity, leaving no-one behind.