{"id":43750,"date":"2018-01-16T21:37:11","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T21:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=43750"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:46:55","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:46:55","slug":"warning-peace-remains-elusive-un-chief-outlines-areas-action-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2018\/01\/warning-peace-remains-elusive-un-chief-outlines-areas-action-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning that \u2018peace remains elusive,\u2019 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief outlines areas for action in 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having taken office with a call for peace to be the watchword of 2017, United Nations\u00a0Secretary-General<\/a>\u00a0Ant\u00f3nio Guterres on Tuesday said the world instead had \u2018gone in reverse,\u201d and that there are critical areas that need action in the New Year, including climate change, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East conflict, and the Rohingya crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took office last year calling for us to make 2017 a year for peace. One year later, we must recognize that\u00a0peace remains elusive<\/a>,\u201d the Secretary-General said in his informal briefing to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Member States on his top concerns for 2018.<\/p>\n

He said that conflicts have deepened and new dangers have emerged, global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War, and climate change is moving faster than counter-measures.<\/p>\n

Further, inequalities are growing, horrific violations of human rights are ongoing, and nationalism, racism and xenophobia are on the rise, he added, stressing the need for greater unity and courage to \u201cset the world on track towards a better future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting that it is up to Member States to define the priorities of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ action, the Secretary-General went on to highlight some parts of the world requiring attention.<\/p>\n

Everyone, everywhere, can do something to make our world more safe, sustainable and secure. Even in the face of headwinds and hatred, we must uphold the values of the United Nations Charter\u00a0Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief Guterres<\/small><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Guterres reiterated the need to avoid sleepwalking into calamity.<\/p>\n

To that end, he welcomed the firm decisions the Security Council has taken in response to nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea (DPRK), while also welcoming the reopening of inter-Korean communication channels, especially military-to-military.<\/p>\n

He said he was also encouraged by the decision of the DPRK to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics in the Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to build on these small signs of hope, and expand diplomatic efforts to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in the context of regional security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the broader Middle East region, including Yemen, Syria and Iraq, he said the situation has become a Gordian knot, stressing the need for \u201cdisentangling the mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith so many inter-related flashpoints, the risk of an escalatory cycle is real,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As for the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, there is no alternative to a two-State solution, he stressed.<\/p>\n

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief also stressed the need for pushing back the dangerous tide of nationalism in Europe, and the need for revitalizing the relevant mediation initiatives for Eastern Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia and Transnistria.<\/p>\n

A concerted effort is also urgently needed for solutions leading to long-term stability in the Western Balkans, he added.<\/p>\n

Turning to the need to reverse the large-scale exodus of Myanmar\u2019s Rohingya Muslims, Mr. Guterres called on the Government to ensure unfettered humanitarian access in Rakhine State, and appealed to the international community to support those who have fled to Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

Uneven benefits of globalization<\/em><\/h5>\n

Mr. Guterres stressed the need for promoting a true new deal for fair globalization. \u201cIt is not by chance that eight people have as much wealth as the poorest half of humankind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The workings of the global economy and international trade are the product of human choices. The\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0for Sustainable Development is a bold vision to build prosperous, peaceful societies for all, leaving no one behind. \u201cThis work depends crucially on financing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief also underscored the need to greatly increase ambition in the fight against climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe year 2016 saw the first rise in CO2 emissions in three years. The past five years have been the hottest period on record,\u201d he said, adding that he will convene a climate summit next year to build momentum among the international community for more ambitious reductions in emissions, as well as adaptation and the much-needed energy transition.<\/p>\n

On migration, Mr. Guterres said that it is a positive global phenomenon, and therefore the adoption of the\u00a0Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration<\/a>\u00a0is an important task for this year.<\/p>\n

Regarding technological advances, he said it is important to reap the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution while guarding against the threats.<\/p>\n

Technological advances can help provide answers to many of today\u2019s most pressing challenges, but at the same time, technology can exacerbate inequality.<\/p>\n

Mr. Guterres also underlined the needs to strengthen African Union-Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ partnership, maintain a strong focus on counter-terrorism, strengthen Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ peace operations, and overcome the false contradiction between human rights and national sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman rights and national sovereignty go hand in hand. The achievement of human rights strengthens states and societies, thereby reinforcing sovereignty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Empowerment of women \u2013 cross-cutting issue<\/em><\/h5>\n

One cross-cutting imperative, he said, is the empowerment of women.<\/p>\n

He said he has launched a roadmap for achieving gender parity at all levels of the United Nations, now reaching full parity in the 44 member Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Senior Management Group.<\/p>\n

He also explained how he is taking action on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse against women, and preventing and addressing sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll our challenges \u2013 everything, everywhere, demand an investment of time, money, energy, political capital and more. Member States must assume their leadership,\u201d Mr. Guterres said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut everyone, everywhere, can do something to make our world more safe, sustainable and secure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Via Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ News Centre<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having taken office with a call for peace to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":43752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4],"tags":[3201],"class_list":["post-43750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-peace-and-justice","category-news","tag-peace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}