Munich: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Saturday told an international security conference in Germany that poverty, hunger and climate change posed a major threat to humanity in the 21st century.
"There are now an unprecedented one billion hungry people in our world. In recent years, we have seen food riots in dozens of countries," Ban told the main session of the Munich Security Conference by video link.
"Chronic poverty and the worst downturn in generations, these two are emergencies. They may not strike with the concentrated force but they tear societies apart, they steal across borders and they call for global action."
"That is why I want a 2010 in which we mount a global campaign for the Millennium Development Goals."
The 46-year-old, three-day gathering of around 300 top military, diplomatic and defence officials, is dubbed the ‘Davos of security policy’ after last month's World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort.
Saturday's agenda was topped by prospects for nuclear disarmament and the Middle East peace process.
Scheduled speakers included US Senator John Kerry, National Security Adviser James Jones, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN atomic agency head Yukiya Amano.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi used his first appearance in Munich yesterday to launch a broadside on US arms sales to Taiwan and to resist pressure from Washington to take a tougher line on Iran over its nuclear programme.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, February 06, 2010, 15:47