The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has urged the international community to prioritize peace and climate protection as the UN General Debate commenced in New York. Addressing the General Assembly on Tuesday, he emphasized the imperative of upholding international law.
Guterres highlighted the severity of ongoing conflicts, noting the devastating impact on civilian populations in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza, describing the latter as unparalleled in its scale of death and destruction during his tenure as Secretary-General. He underscored the legal obligations of states engaged in conflict, strongly reaffirming the central importance of the UN Charter, stating it is “not optional. It is our foundation.
The Secretary-General stressed the link between respect for human rights and the attainment of lasting peace. He also advocated for increased investment in sustainable development, noting a critical paradox of the current era: the existence of solutions hampered by a lack of necessary resources. Guterres condemned the ongoing cuts in development financing, describing them as “a death sentence for many” and a “stolen future for others.
Guterres also pointed to the opportunities presented by climate action. Acknowledging the accelerating climate crisis, he highlighted the parallel acceleration in potential solutions. He portrayed the future of clean energy as a reality, not a distant prospect and declared reliance on fossil fuels “a losing bet”. He contrasted this with current investment patterns, where funding for fossil fuels significantly outpaces investment in renewable energy sources. He implored the international community to expedite efforts to avoid exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, characterized the United Nations as standing at a crossroads. She emphasized the responsibility of each member state to champion the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and to strive for collective improvement, asserting that the organization serves as an essential safeguard for every nation.
Baerbock also used her address to advocate for the appointment of a female successor to Secretary-General Guterres. She expressed concern that, in the organization’s history, a woman has never been selected for this key leadership role, questioning how, among a pool of over four billion potential candidates, no woman has yet been deemed suitable.