国际英语新闻：UN "at the center" of crisis management throughout the world: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- As the international community continues to face new security challenges, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said the United Nations is "at the center of crisis management" in the world's regions of conflict.

The statement came as Ban addressed the UN Security Council summit on the maintenance of international peace and security. The summit was convened on the sidelines of the general debate of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, which began here on Thursday morning.

Ban highlighted the UN's role in maintaining peace throughout the most volatile regions.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon addresses the general debate of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the United States, Sept. 23, 2010.

"We have reinvigorated preventive diplomacy and upgraded the UN 's mediation capacity. We are more nimble in responding to brewing trouble -- from Guinea to Kyrgyzstan. We have more instances in which peacemaking and peacekeeping are being carried out simultaneously, as in Cyprus," he said.

At present, there are some 122,000 civilian and uniformed personnel in 15 UN peacekeeping missions, with an additional 4,000 staff members deployed in 14 political field missions throughout the world.

The secretary-general called on world leaders to reassess the undertaking of peacekeeping and peace building operations.

"Conflict seldom follows a tidy path. We must continue to evolve, toward a faster and more flexible architecture of response that allows us to customize our assistance to the real and immediate needs on the ground," said Ban.

"There is no quick-fix for broken societies. It demands patience, resources and a long-term commitment. The UN's core business must be helping people to solve their conflicts, not just serving as a band-aid to keep troubles in check," he added.