New York: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stressed that principles of the UN are under assault as never before, pointing out that civilians are targeted, and international law trampled in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond.
He also noted that poverty and hunger are on the rise as progress on the Sustainable Development Goals falters, and that the planet burns, with fires, floods, and record heat raging through climate chaos.
In a speech at the event marking the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, Guterres emphasized the need to confront these challenges and work not only to defend the UN but also to strengthen it, emphasizing that that is the purpose of Agenda 2030, the Pact for the Future, and the UN80 initiative.
He added that the tests of the next 80 years will be both familiar and new. The battle will continue against war and poverty. But also climate chaos, runaway technologies, the militarization of space, and crises we cannot yet imagine.
In this regard, the Secretary-General called for the need to address these challenges through collective action and to work to realize the promise of peace.
On this occasion, Guterres also remembered the first UN staff who suffered the horrors of war and bore the scars of wounds as they carried out their work to serve humanity by building a place where all nations - large and small - could come together to solve problems that no country can solve alone.
