“Prospects for peace continue to diminish. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed continue to grow,” the secretary-general said.
“I’m afraid the world is not sleepwalking into a broader war. I’m afraid it’s doing it with wide eyes,” he said, before mentioning other threats to peace, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Afghanistan, Burma , the Sahel and Haiti.
“If all countries fulfilled the obligations that emanate from the (UN) Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed,” he said.
More generally, Guterres denounced the lack of “strategic vision” and the short-term “bias” of political and economic leaders that, he said, “is not only profoundly irresponsible, it is immoral.”
“Crumbs” for the poor
Underlining the need to act with future generations in mind, the Secretary-General repeated his call for a “radical transformation” of the global financial architecture.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with our economic and financial system,” he insisted, blaming it for rising poverty and hunger, the widening gap between rich and poor and the debt burden of developing countries.
“Without fundamental reforms, the richest countries and individuals will continue to accumulate wealth, leaving only crumbs for the communities and countries of the South,” he said.
A concern shared by representatives of developing countries.
Cuba, which chairs the G77+China, which is made up of 134 developing countries, called in this regard for “urgent and significant action” to correct the enormous imbalances “that push developing countries to the brink of the abyss”, fueled by the covid-19 pandemic, rising food prices and technology gap.
Last September, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) estimated that the world had regressed five years in terms of human development (health, education, standard of living).
“The development goals (SDGs) are disappearing in the rearview mirror,” lamented Guterres, referring to the 17 goals set in 2015 to achieve the eradication of poverty, food security for all, and access to clean energy and energy by 2030. affordable.
“We have opportunities to save them,” however assured the secretary general, who is organizing a summit in New York on this issue in September.
He also called on the Group of Twenty advanced economies (G20) to adopt support measures for developing countries and their responsibilities in the fight against global warming.
The fight against climate change will be at the center of another summit also scheduled for September to which Guterres has invited world leaders, “on one condition.”
“Show us accelerated action for this decade and ambitious new plans for carbon neutrality or please don’t come,” he said.
He also lashed out once again at the fossil fuel sector: “If they can’t set a credible course towards carbon neutrality, (…) they shouldn’t be in business.”
“We need a renewable energy revolution, not a self-destructive resurgence of fossil fuels,” he said.
Likewise, Guterres considered that women’s rights are experiencing an “intense setback”. “Half of humanity is facing the most widespread human rights violations of our time,” he said.