Interview: UN chief candidate vows to prioritize peace, climate change in reform

The Director-General of UN cultural agency UNESCO and candidate for the next UN chief pledged on Tuesday that she will prioritize reforms in peace and climate change to make the organization relevant to the world if she is elected.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Irina Bokova said that it is now a big challenge to make UN relevant to what is happening to the world where conflicts, rise of extremism and refugee crisis are emerging.

In many parts of the world, climate change is destroying the society and people are on the move, she said.

"The challenges we have in front of us is to make UN relevant for peace, sustainable development, for human dignity and for climate change," she said.

"These are the areas that I will prioritize in the UN reform if I am elected," she added.

Bokova made the comments on the sidelines of the launch of a UNESCO education report in London.

She also acknowledged that despite challenges, there are huge opportunities for the world in terms of the development of technology, science and education at the same time.

"We see the change of the mindset of political leaders to work together to solve problems," she said, adding "I believe in multilateralism and the UN is the broad platform that should be mobilized with leaders to solve these problems."

Bokova, 64, has been the Director-General of UNESCO since 2009 and was successfully reelected for a second term in 2013. She is a leading advocate for ensuring quality education for all and has championed gender equality, making this her own personal priority for UNESCO. Endit