Following is a full transcript of the press conference given in Montreux by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the high-level segment of the Geneva Conference on Syria. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for your participation and covering this important meeting. We have just…

Following are the remarks by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the high-level segment of the Geneva Conference on Syria, which opened today in Montreux:“Excellencies,After nearly three painful years of conflict and suffering in Syria, today is a day of fragile but real hope.For the…

Secretary-General: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs, je suis très heureux de vous rencontrer à Genève. I am pleased to be back in Geneva again. As you know, I am here for the Opening of the High Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council focusing on the role…

The Secretary-General: Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs de la presse, Je suis très heureux d'être de retour à Genève. Je viens de parler au Conseil des droits de l'homme sur le sujet très important de l'intégration des droits de l'homme dans tout le travail de l'ONU, et dans le programme de…

Thank you President Widmer-Schlumpf, danke schön. Ladies and Gentlemen of the media it is a great pleasure to see you. I am just going to wind down my visit to Switzerland. I am extremely honoured and happy to visit Switzerland on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Switzerland joining the…

The Secretary-General: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Bonjour mesdames et messieurs. It is a great pleasure to see you again. I do not get a chance to see you often enough, but I am very glad to see you again today on the occasion of my visit to Geneva to chair the CEB, which stands for…

Merci Madame la Présidente, Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs, Je suis très heureux d’être parmi vous ce matin. It is a pleasure to be in Switzerland at this time. I have had very good talks with President Calmy-Rey, members of the Swiss Government and other senior officials. And thank you for your…

The Secretary-General: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Bonjour mesdames et messieurs, bonjour, je suis très heureux de vous rencontrer ce matin. I am pleased to be back in Geneva. This is the last country on a three-country tour. If I may just explain to you about what I have been doing the…

The Secretary-General: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am happy to see you again. Tomorrow, I will have a press conference where we can discuss a broad range of issues of our work. Today, I would like to focus my press conference on this official launching of the Global Platform. I would…

Today I am pleased to announce a new initiative of the United Nations Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate responsibility and sustainability platform. We are launching what we call Global Compact Lead -- a group of 54 global companies, as founding members, who have committed to be at…