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Sustainable development tops UN chief's priorities for 2010

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced in the UN Monday that his top priorities for this year will be promoting sustainable development and negotiating a legally binding pact on climate change.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to the media at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, the United States, Jan. 11, 2009. Heralding 2010 as the year of development, Ban Ki-moon on Monday underscored the urgent need to ensure that action is accelerated to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.(Xinhua/Shen Hong)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to the media at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, the United States, Jan. 11, 2009. [Xinhua]

The secretary-general made the announcement at a press conference to outline his priorities for the new year at the temporary office, the white structure commissioned Monday as part of the renovation of the UN Secretarian building.

"We can make 2010 a year of action on several fronts" -- negotiating a legally binding pact on climate change, protecting the legal rights of women and working toward a nuclear-free world, he said.

The secretary-general declared 2010 "as the year for development" to garner world attention to the issues of development in the wake of the global financial crisis and accelerate the process to realize the target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), he said.

The United Nations is scheduled to convene a high-level meeting on MDGs in September, when world leaders gather at the UN Headquarters in New York for a new session of the UN General Assembly.

"We have only six years left before 2015," the deadline for the MDGs targets to be reached, Ban said, urging all member states to do their utmost to realize the targets.

"My message is simple: The MDGs are too big to fail," he underscored, highlighting the importance of investing in development to spur growth, boost security and improve the lives of families around the world.