UN Chief Antonio Guterres Fears Wider Wars

As Russia’s Ukraine invasion approaches one year, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres expresses fear, amidst the worldwide challenges never, that are likely to develop into wider wars.

Guterres said, his distress is following the expert’s survey around the world that claims the global state in 2023 has set the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight the closest ever to a total worldwide catastrophe.

He underlined the peace-threatening dangers, the Ukraine war, runaway climate, nuclear threats, the widening wealth and poverty gulf and the geopolitical division hammering the global solidarity and trust.

He urged the United Nations 193-state alliance to change their mindset on near-term thinking decisions which he labeled irresponsible and immoral to decide the future threats.

He highlighted the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year as a reminder to serve the foundation of the inalienable rights of all people, freedom, justice and peace.

He emphasised the transformation for today should start with peace and that Ukraine should adopt the peaceful prospects, that the country keeps diminishing, developing further escalation and bloodshed scenarios.

Guterres said, working on peace is the need of the hour as the world is slowly sleepwalking into a wider war, it’s not just Ukraine but the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, the Afghan’s deadly terror attack and restrictions on women and girls’ rights and Africa’s Sahel region security deterioration are all alarmingly pointing out the future violence.

He also pointed out the new violence in Myanmar and Haiti as the rising humanitarian crises.

The secretary-general suggested that countries around the world should call for peaceful settlement of disputes and should outline strategies for conflict prevention and reconciliation.

He underlined the proposed new UN Agenda for peace, a new generation call for peace enforcement missions and counter-terrorist operations to be led by regional forces, with a UN Security Council mandate enforcing military support and guaranteed funding. The African Union is a partner in this regard, he added.

He further suggested renouncing nuclear weapons, radical transformation of developing countries, change in multilateral banks’ business model, and poverty and hunger solutions.

 He urged the world to focus on cutting global-warming greenhouse gas emissions by half this decade.