UN General Assembly begins annual debate, Ban calls for unity

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 64th session of the UN General Assembly kicked off its general debate on Wednesday and Ban Ki-moon called for unity through the United Nations to tackle multiple crises.

UN General Assembly President Ali Abdelsalam Triki hosts the general debate at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 23, 2009. The 64th session of the UN General Assembly kicked off its general debate on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

In addressing world leaders gathered at UN Headquarters for theseven-day annual event, the UN Secretary General listed the crisesas the crises of food, energy, recession and pandemic flu, and said the time to act is now.

Ban said the world's most pressing challenges can only be solved when countries unite through the United Nations.

"If ever there were a time to act in a spirit of renewed multilateralism, a moment to create a United Nations of genuine collective action, it is now," Ban said.

"Now is our time. A time to put the 'united' back into the United Nations," he said. "United in purpose. United in action."

In his wide-ranging speech before dozens of heads of state or government, Ban was speaking to spotlight the need for joint action on issues ranging from climate change and disarmament to ensuring that the world's poorest people are not left behind by efforts to deal with the economic crisis.