New UN Secretary-General Begins Work

Ban Ki-moon had his first day of work as the new UN Secretary-General today, as New Year's Day is a UN holiday. He takes over for Kofi Annan at a time when the UN is being looked to more and more to handle international human rights conflicts and weigh in on rule of law issues. Ban promised to rebuild international trust in the UN and address the North Korean nuclear problem.

I believe that Ban's tenure is going to be a very important one for the UN. The UN cannot afford to have a poor leader at this juncture, as the UN is already a target of much criticism. Ban faces some very difficult challenges in Darfur, North Korea, and the Middle East, among other problems.