Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at his final press briefing on Friday at the UN headquarters that the fight for freedom of the press was everybody’s fight.
Ban told the UN Correspondents that he would miss his exchanges with them as he will complete his 10-year service as the world’s top diplomat on December 31, 2016.
Ban said: “Believe it or not, I will miss these exchanges. We have spent much time together in this room, in the halls of this building and around the world over the last 10 years.
“You are part of the UN family; and I thank you for your strong commitment and working together, working for the United Nations.
“More than that, you have an important job to do, informing the world about our work, when we make progress and when we fall short.
“I deeply believe in your mission. I have been saying that you are connecting the world, connector between the United Nations and the people of the world.
“And at a time when Governments across the world are harassing journalists and cracking down on press freedom, I have worked hard to be your ally and defender.
“The fight for freedom of the press is everybody’s fight.”
He thanked the correspondents for their support for the past decade, wishing them “continued good success, and work and engaging more closely with the UN”.
Ban said that the last 10 years had been for him a decade of unceasing test, with opportunities and challenges.
He said: “This has been a decade of unceasing test. But I have also seen collective action changed millions of lives for the better.
“Difficult as it may sometimes be, international cooperation remains the path to a more peaceful and prosperous world.
“I will continue to spare no effort to appeal to world leaders, long-standing or newly minted, to recognise and embrace that preeminent 21st-century fact.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ban’s successor, Antonio Guterres, will assume office on January 1, 2017.