MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ban Ki-Moon praises Pavarotti as “true friend of the UN”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to the late Luciano Pavarotti who beyond being one of the world's foremost tenor singers was a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

"Mr. Pavarotti made a profound contribution not only to music and the arts, but also to people in need around the world," Mr. Ban said in a communiqué issued by his spokesperson. "His work for children – particularly those affected by armed conflict – stretched from Afghanistan to Liberia and beyond. "By staging concerts and marshalling talented friends to help raise funds, he generated millions of dollars for humanitarian aid. A true friend of the UN, he described himself as 'a small link to help promote the humanitarian aims and inviolable rights which are under the United Nations flag,'" the statement added. Mr. Ban joins Mr. Pavarotti's countless fans and admirers, as well as all those he worked to help and heal, "in giving thanks for his life," it concluded.