The Final Call

Ban Ki-moon most powerless chief in UN history: Velayati

What's your opinion on this article?

A senior advisor to Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Ban Ki-moon has been the most powerless UN secretary general since the body was founded in 1945.

In a March 11 interview, Ali Akbar Velayati described Sec. Ban as a tool in the hands of the United States.

Ban Ki-moon Photo: MGN Online

“Ban Ki-Moon is an individual who is completely controlled by the Americans and Americans tell Ban Ki-Moon whatever they want to express from the UN podium and he makes remarks about it for them,” Mr. Velayati, who is also director of the Strategic Research Center of Iran’s Expediency Council, said March 12.

Mr. Velayati’s comments come after Sec. Ban accused Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of failing to make any significant improvements in the promotion and protection of freedom of speech.

In a March 11 report to the UN Human Rights Council, Sec. Ban Ki-moon highlighted the use of capital punishment for serious drug offences in Iran.

“The new administration has not made any significant improvement in the promotion and protection of freedom of expression and opinion, despite pledges made by the president during his campaign and after his swearing in,” Sec. Ban said.

Mr. Velayati said Sec. Ban makes selective and politically-motivated remarks about global issues. He says the UN chief has done “nothing effective” so far to resolve even one crisis in the Muslim world because of his “lack of independence.”

The U.S. has frequently been criticized by other countries for using human rights issues as political leverage against nations it considers adversaries. (PressTV.com)