The new Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon, has set Sudan's Darfur region as his highest priority on a list of "daunting challenges" he faces as he takes up office.
"I start my duties at a daunting time in international affairs, starting from Darfur to the Middle East, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, many other crises that trouble our world," Ban told reporters on his first day of work as the head of the world body at UN headquarters in New York.
"These challenges and issues need to be addressed collectively, with collective wisdom and collective efforts. Not a single person, including the secretary general of the United Nations; not a single country, however strong, powerful, resourceful it may be," can address this alone, he said.
The South Korean ex-foreign minister Ban, 62, was met by applauding staff as he entered the UN's New York headquarters on Tuesday.
He admitted that Darfur was a very high priority and revealed that he would be making moves on this immediately, starting with a meeting Wednesday with the UN special envoy for Sudan, Jan Eliasson.
"The crisis situation in Darfur is very high on my agenda. I will turn immediately my attention to this issue," he said.
Ban will attend an African Union summit later in the month, where he is expected to meet with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir.
"By engaging myself in the diplomatic process, I hope we'll be able to resolve peacefully as soon as possible this very serious issue," Ban said.
In a letter to Annan released last week, Beshir stated his government's readiness "to start immediately" implementation of the Darfur peace plan, as agreed at a high-level meeting in Ethiopia last November and at a November 30 meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria, AFP reported.
Beshir has long resisted previous attempts by the UN to implement a large-scale deployment of troops in Darfur. He has now endorsed the three-phase plan, including the deployment of the "hybrid" AU-UN peacekeeping force.
Volatile North Korea also stands high up on the list of priority areas for Ban and is an issue he already has extensive experience in as the former foreign minister of South Korea.
"The North Korean nuclear issue is one of the priorities on my agenda," he said.
"As secretary general, I will first try to facilitate the smooth progress of the six-party talks, and I will discuss this matter very closely with the members of the six parties, as well as with Security Council members, so that I can be able to do my own role."
Ban succeeds Kofi Annan, who led the UN for the last 10 years. His term lasts five years.
