United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon leaves Friday for South America, where he will visit Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

The U.N. says Mr. Ban will meet with the presidents and foreign ministers of each of the four countries.

He is scheduled to go first to Colombia, where he also will meet with the head of the Union of South American Nations, known as UNASUR.

Among his other activities in Colombia, Mr. Ban will witness the signing into law of a landmark bill on land restitution, and will take a helicopter flight over flooded areas and meet with those affected. Heavy rains and flooding have been a problem for Colombia for much of the past year.

He then will travel to Argentina, where he will visit an international human rights center and a peacekeeping training center, and will deliver a speech at the foreign ministry.

In Uruguay, the U.N. chief will tour a school for peacekeeping operations and visit a U.N. program for social rehabilitation. He also will address the nation's parliament.

Mr. Ban will wrap up his trip in Brazil and return to New York on June 18.