As a child growing up during the Korean War, I knew poverty. I studied by candlelight.

Since I became Secretary-General, five years ago, I have seen youth participate at the United Nations as never before.

Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone's responsibility.

Gender equality and women's empowerment have been a top priority for me from day one as Secretary-General. And I am committed to making sure that the U.N. leads by example.

I learned a lot from Vietnam veterans, especially as some of them turned against their own war.

If we examine the Hague Convention carefully, we see that it considers the offer of good offices a duty of every nation. In other words, such offers should be made whenever a dispute becomes critical and threatens to explode into war.

I used to think that the Civil War was our country's greatest tragedy, but I do remember that there were some redeeming features in the Civil War in that there was some spirit of sacrifice and heroism displayed on both sides. I see no redeeming features in Watergate.

We are living in tumultuous times, and our focus should be fighting against the oppression and injustices that are against us - not battling those who are on the same side of seeking justice and peace.