Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton a "champion of women's rights and girl's rights" and says she will play an important role in next year's 20th anniversary celebration of the U.N. women's conference in Beijing.

The U.N. chief recalled Clinton's "critical role" at the 1995 Beijing conference, where she galvanized the world's women with her demand for equality.

Clinton said she looks forward to working with Ban on an issue "of such great global importance."

Ban said before meeting privately Tuesday with Clinton, her daughter Chelsea, and the head of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, that there has been a great deal of progress since the Beijing conference.

"But still too many women face far too much discrimination and violence," Ban said. (**)