UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday expressed his sadness over the terrorist attacks on UN staffs in the past and stressed that the UN stands for the entire world.

    The terrorist attacks in Algeria that killed 17 UN staff last month are "unacceptable," and "terrorism can never be justified under any circumstances," Ban said in an interview with the Arabic news television channel Al Jazeera.

    He also said "there should be no misunderstanding" as to what the UN does. The UN stands for all nations, people and faiths of the world. It is "not working for any group of nations over another," he said.

    Referring to the situation in Iraq, Ban said "The whole international community should help the Iraqi Government and people so they'll be able to enjoy genuine freedom so they can live in peace and security."

    Ban stressed that the decision to expand the UN's role in Iraq was the consensus reached by the 15 member states of the UN Security Council.

    "I am very happy to implement this Security Council resolution to strengthen and increase the presence of the United Nations for the purpose of bringing peace and security to the region," he said.

    As to the Middle East peace process, Ban said the diplomatic Quartet of the UN, European Union, Russia and the U.S. have a crucial role to play.

    Ban expressed his concerns about the plight that the Palestinian people are facing and that he is trying his best to ease their "social and economic burdens."