This I Pledge To Do; Exclusive: The new U.N. leader writes that critical global forces now work in his favor.(Essay)

Byline: Ban Ki-Moon (Ban, former foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, was sworn in last December as the eighth U.N. secretary general.)

My experience, each morning, may not be unlike yours. We pick up our newspapers or turn on the TV--in New York, Lagos or Jakarta--and peruse a daily digest of human suffering. Lebanon. Darfur. Somalia. Of course, as Secretary General of the United Nations, I at least am in a position to try to do something about these tragedies. And I do, every day.

When I took on this post, nearly five months ago, it was without illusions. A distinguished predecessor famously remarked that it was "the most impossible job in the world." I myself have joked that I am more secretary than general, for after all the Secretary General is no more powerful than his Security Council is united. In the past, as today, that unity has often been elusive. And yet, I remain as optimistic as the day I first entered this office.

That might be hard to understand, given the dimension and intractability of many of the problems we face--nowhere more so, perhaps, than in the Middle East. With demands growing on every front, from peacekeeping to humanitarian assistance to health, the U.N. today is being called upon to do more than ever before, even as the resources to do these jobs grow proportionately more scarce. On the other hand, consider some of the ways in which the world has changed, in recent years, to the U.N.'s advantage.

For many reasons other than Iraq, there is today a new appreciation for multilateralism and diplomacy in coping with crises. "Soft power" issues--the U.N.'s natural turf--have risen to the top of the global agenda. In the past year alone, to cite but one example, a consensus has emerged on climate change and the dangers of global warming. Leaders from Bill Gates to Tony Blair to Bono are committed to helping the United Nations achieve its Millennium Development Goals, from reducing poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Perhaps most encouraging, public support for the U.N. remains strikingly high. A new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org found large majorities (74 percent) believe the United Nations should play a stronger role in the world, whether in preventing genocide and defending nations under attack or aggressively investigating human-rights abuses. Even in the United States, where disillusion with the U.N. has lately run deep, three of four Americans favor a stronger United Nations, and nearly as many expect the nation's foreign policy to be conducted in partnership with it. For the U.N., all this, too, amounts to a climate change. I wouldn't quite call it a new San Francisco moment--but it might not be far short, so long as we seize the opportunity.

We Koreans are an energetic people. By nature, we are patient but persistent, determined to accomplish what we set out to do. Like many of my countrymen, I believe in the power of relationships. For years I have carried in my wallet (along with lists of trade and economic statistics) a well-worn scrap of paper inscribed with Chinese characters, each pertaining to one's age and phase in life. At 30, you are in your prime of life. At 50, you are said to know your destiny. At 60, you possess the wisdom of the "soft ear."