Sudan News Story

02 December 2008 03:44 BST

UN chief warns of inward-looking nations

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has warned of the dangers of nations looking to their own problems and borders without considering global solutions.

Speaking at the opening of the UN general assembly in New York, Mr Ban said countries' main challenges were those of "collaboration rather than confrontation".

"Nations can no longer protect their interests, or advance the well-being of their people, without the partnership of the rest," he told delegates with reference to the issues of climate change, entrenched poverty and conflict in Darfur.

"I see a danger of nations looking more inward, rather than towards a shared future. I see a danger of retreating from the progress we have made, particularly in the realm of development and more equitably sharing the fruits of global growth."

Earlier, turmoil on Wall Street and the threat of a second cold war had been expected to be pushed into the shadows as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the opening of the assembly.

Sanctions against the Iranian president's regime were due to be discussed at the UN headquarters, with western leaders set to rally against Tehran.

Iran's deeply-controversial nuclear programme still divides the security council, while the country's alleged widespread abuses of human rights continue to provoke the ire of protestors.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who has likened Israel to a "tumour" and dismissed potential sanctions against Iran as "nothing more than a pile of papers" was greeted by a series of protests across New York on Tuesday.

Chief among them is a wall of shame on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza across the UN building over Iran's record on child executions.

Stop Child Executions/ president and cofounder Nazanin Afshin-Jam said six children had been hanged in Iran this year alone, while a further 130 are on death row.

"This wall of shame demonstration is hoping to give a 'voice to the voiceless' and address the concerns of the vast majority of Iranian people who believe in a united, secular, democratic Iran based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and no military intervention on Iran," the former Miss Canada said.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and former White House candidate Hillary Clinton had both been due to address demonstrators on Tuesday, but disagreement about both women appearing at the same event will see neither of them appear.

In a speech due to be delivered on Monday, Mrs Palin simply said that Mr Ahmadinejad "had to be stopped", something she said could only be achieved through victory in Iraq.

"Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad will come to New York. On our soil, he will exercise the right of freedom of speech - a right he denies his own people. He will share his hateful agenda with the world. Our task is to focus the world on what can be done to stop him," she said.

"We must rally the world to press for truly tough sanctions at the UN or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the UN. We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports. We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence.

"We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners.

"President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law."

United States president George Bush and his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres both addressed the assembly today, with a fourth round of sanctions almost certain to be discussed.