Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS,15th Sept. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday sent a clear message on to world leaders attending the high level summit next week in New York “This is not a time for posturing or positioning.”
He said “Action is what the world needs” told the upcoming UN General Assembly high-level week as a “one-of-a-kind moment” to both assess the state of world affairs but also “act for the common good.”
“This is not a time for indifference or indecision”, he said
Guterres told reporters in a press conference “This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions.”
“It is time for compromise for a better tomorrow. Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise.”
He reflected on the thousands of deaths in Morocco and Libya in recent days.
“The United Nations is mobilizing to support relief efforts. We will work in any and every way we can with partners to help get emergency assistance to those who so desperately need it”, he said.
He said UNGA78 was convening for high level meetings amidst huge challenges, as he just came back from key international summits in Nairobi, Jakarta and New Delhi plus a visit to Havana on Thursday to meet leaders of the G77 group plus China
He cited the intensifying climate emergency, new conflicts, the cost of living, and soaring inequality.
Mr. Guterres said “People are looking to their leaders for a way out of this mess. Yet in the face of all this and more, geopolitical divisions are undermining our capacity to respond”.
He stressed “A multipolar world is emerging. Multipolarity can be a factor of equilibrium, but it can also lead to escalating tensions, fragmentation and worse.”
Guterres emphasized that to cement this new and complex world order, there need to be strong and reformed institutions based around the UN Charter and international law.
“I know reform is fundamentally about power – and there are many competing interests and agendas in our increasingly multipolar world”, hestated.
“But at a time when our challenges are more connected than ever, the outcome of a zero-sum game is that everyone gets zero.”
He laid out the key summits, on climate, investment for development, health challenges and specific regional crises.
Guterres noted that next week begins with a two-day meeting on how best to “rescue” the Sustainable Development Goals agreed in Paris eight years ago, on the road to the ambitious 2030 deadline.
He reiterated his appeal to those Heads of State and Government bound for Manhattan: “If we want a future of peace and prosperity based on equity and solidarity, leaders have a special responsibility to achieve compromise in designing our common future for our common good.”
“Next week in New York is the place to start,” he concluded his remarks.
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