New York, 13 October 2006 – The General Assembly met in plenary today to decide on the appointment of Ban Ki-moon as the next Secretary-General. The President of the Security Council formally gave the Council’s recommendation of Ban, which had been issued earlier in the week. The President of the General Assembly, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, announced that the draft resolution to appoint Ban had the support of the five Regional Groups and that they would try to adopt the resolution by consensus, at which point applause broke out. President Al Khalifa gaveled the decision, and the General Assembly thus confirmed Ban’s appointment to the post for a five-year term, beginning January 1, 2007 and ending on December 31, 2011. He will take an oath of office at an unspecified date in December.

Following the decision, several statements were made regarding Ban’s appointment. President Al Khalifa spoke first, followed by outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Annan commended the “early and orderly” way that Ban had been elected, as opposed to his own last-minute appointment.

The chairs of the Regional Groups made statements.

• Gambia spoke for the African group and emphasized the importance of development and fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals, as well making progress on disarmament and denuclearization. He said that Ban’s “immediate preoccupation,” however, would be reform of the UN, namely management reform, reform of the Security Council and ECOSOC, and revitalization of the General Assembly.

• Japan spoke for the Asian group. Ambassador Oshima thanked all Member States, in particular the Non-Aligned Movement, for supporting Asia’s “turn” for a Secretary-General. He noted that Ban would serve as the “chief administrator” of the organization. Finally, he thanked the other candidates from the Asian region for their “consideration” in allowing the Council and Assembly to unanimously support Ban.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina, on behalf of the Eastern European group, hoped that the Millennium Goals would be “almost achieved” during Ban’s tenure.

• Ecuador spoke for the Latin American and Caribbean group and emphasized Ban’s “diplomatic talents.” He assured Ban that reform would be a major concern and responsibility of his as Secretary-General. He also warned against promising reforms without showing the political will to adopt them and called for more consensus as a basis to move forward on reform.

• Liechtenstein spoke for the Western European and Others group. He said that one of Ban’s major responsibilities would be to efficiently manage the Secretariat.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton made a statement as the representative of the host country, saying that it was now up to Ban to lead the organization in fulfilling the reforms committed to in 2005, and that he should act decisively in the first few months to shape the Secretariat. Bolton also thanked the other six candidates.

South Africa spoke on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Ambassador Kumalo called for Ban to maintain the momentum on the 2000 Millennium Declaration and commending him for having previously committed to advancing the “internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals.” He urged Ban to listen to the voices of every Member State, and urged all Member States to respect “the exclusively international character” of the S-G’s responsibilities as stated in the UN Charter (article 100) and “not seek to influence” him and his staff.

Finland made a brief statement of congratulations on behalf of the European Union.

Ban gave an acceptance speech of approximately 15 minutes.

• He said that he would take advantage of the two-month transition period to “consult widely on how best to proceed with our common agenda of reform and revitalization.”

• He hoped that the UN would improve in its delivery on promises, and he suggested that the “new century’s mandate” was no longer to keep states from fighting each other, but to strengthen the international system.

• He wished to better organize the current reform efforts and to work harder towards reforms including meeting the MDGs, peace operations, countering terrorism, non-proliferation, fighting HIV and other pandemics, stopping environmental degradation, and “the imperatives of human rights.”

• Ban switched into French for a portion of his statement, during which he promised openness in leading the Organization. He committed to reaching out to stakeholders and “engaging civil society in dialogue”: “I will actively seek the support and input of advocacy groups, businesses, and other constituents of the global citizenry.”

• He also promised accountable management of the organization’s finances and budget.

Read the statement of the President of the General Assembly here.

Read the statement of the Secretary-General here.

Read the statement of the Group of 77 and China here.

Read the acceptance speech of the Secretary-General-designate, Ban Ki-moon, here.