press
conference this
year.
(Real
Player
video
clip)
"And
so
I
say,
let
2008
be
the
year
of
the
'bottom
billion,'"
Mr.
Ban
said,
borrowing
the
phrase
used
by
some
economists
to
describe
the
poorest
of
the
world's
poor
-
the
nearly
one
billion
left
behind
by
global
economic
growth.
Noting
that
most
of
the
world's
poorest
live
in
Africa
or
small
developing
islands
of
Asia
with
incomes
of
less
than
$1
a
day,
he
pledged
to
work
over
the
coming
year
to
strengthen
the
UN's
role
in
development.
He
also
called
for
"fresh
ideas
and
fresh
approaches"
on
ways
to
help
nations
achieve
the
pledges
to
slash
poverty,
hunger,
disease
and
illiteracy
by
2015,
goals
known
as
the
Millennium
Development
Goals
(MDGs).
Now
past
the
mid-point
towards
the
2015
deadline,
many
countries,
particularly
in
Africa,
are
not
on
track
to
meeting
the
goals.
To
help
remedy
this,
Mr.
Ban
established
the
MDG
Africa
Steering
Group
last
September
in
an
effort
to
mobilize
the
full
resources
of
the
UN
system
and
its
partners
to
achieve
the
MDGs
in
Africa.
In
addition,
he
will
draw
attention
to
a
high-level
meeting
of
the
General
Assembly
to
be
held
in
September
with
the
goal
of
re-energizing
the
world's
commitment
to
the
MDGs,
with
special
attention
to
the
poorest
of
the
poor,
noting
that
a
similar
forum
was
used
last
year
to
galvanize
world
action
on
climate
change.
Regarding
climate
change,
he
cited
the
need
for
a
global
grassroots
public
awareness
campaign
to
focus
political
pressure
and
keep
global
warming
at
the
forefront
of
public
consciousness.
"The
road
from
Bali
will
be
difficult
as
well,"
he
noted,
recalling
the
landmark
UN
climate
change
conference
held
in
Indonesia,
where
nearly
200
countries
agreed
to
launch
a
two-year
process
of
formal
talks
to
tackle
the
problem
of
global
warming.
The
Secretary-General
also
noted
that
the
demands
on
the
UN
continue
to
increase,
whether
it
is
nurturing
a
fragile
peace
process
in
the
Middle
East,
helping
Iraq
emerge
from
conflict,
staying
in
Afghanistan
or
pushing
for
peace
in
war-torn
Darfur.
If
the
past
week
is
any
indication,
he
said
that
"the
coming
year
promises
to
be
even
tougher
than
the
last,"
pointing
to
the
recent
turmoil
in
Kenya
and
renewed
violence
in
Sri
Lanka.
"We
therefore
move
into
the
new
year
with
renewed
commitment
to
our
ultimate
mission
-
building
a
stronger
UN
for
a
better
world,"
Mr.
Ban
stated,
pledging
to
continue
his
push
to
modernize,
revitalize
and
streamline
the
United
Nations,
upholding
the
highest
standards
of
ethics,
performance
and
accountability.
"We
must
address
ourselves
to
the
needs
of
the
weak,
the
disadvantaged,
those
who
have
been
excluded
from
the
mainstream
international
community,"
Mr.
Ban
said
during
his
first
