{"id":23763,"date":"2017-01-01T21:05:26","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T21:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=23763"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:54:58","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:54:58","slug":"new-un-chief-guterres-pledges-to-make-2017-a-year-for-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/01\/new-un-chief-guterres-pledges-to-make-2017-a-year-for-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"New Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief Guterres pledges to make 2017 ‘a year for peace’"},"content":{"rendered":"

On his first day at the helm of the United Nations, Secretary-General<\/a> Ant\u00f3nio Guterres today pledged to make 2017 a year for peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn this New Year’s Day, I ask all of you to join me in making one shared New Year’s resolution: Let us resolve to put peace first,\u201d said Mr. Guterres in an appeal for peace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He said one question weighs heavy on his heart. \u201cThat is: how can we help the millions of people caught up in conflict, suffering massively in wars with no end in sight?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace must be our goal and our guide,\u201d he said, urging all citizens, governments and leaders to strive to overcome differences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appeal to you all to join me in committing to peace, today and every day. Let us make 2017 a year for peace,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Having been formally appointed<\/a> by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly on 13 October 2016, Mr. Guterres, aged 67, will serve for a five-year period from today to 31 December 2021. He was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.<\/p>\n