Antonio Guterres
UN chief warns world is one step from 'nuclear annihilation'
The United Nations chief warned Monday that “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” citing the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats in Asia and the Middle East and many other factors.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave the dire warning at the opening of the long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually achieving a nuclear-free world.
The danger of increasing nuclear threats and a nuclear catastrophe was also raised by the United States, Japan, Germany, the U.N. nuclear chief and many other opening speakers at the meeting to review progress and agree to future steps to implement the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, known as the NPT.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said North Korea is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test, Iran “has either been unwilling or unable” to accept a deal to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at reining in its nuclear program, and Russia is “engaged in reckless, dangerous nuclear saber-rattling” in Ukraine.
Also read: UN chief calls for more holistic approach to road safety
He cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning after its Feb. 24 invasion that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen,” emphasizing that his country is “one of the most potent nuclear powers.”
This is contrary to assurances given to Ukraine of its sovereignty and independence when in gave up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994, Blinken said, and sends “the worst possible message” to any country thinking it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself and deter aggression.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said divisions in the world since the last review conference in 2015, which ended without a consensus document, have become greater, stressing that Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war has contributed “to worldwide concern that yet another catastrophe by nuclear weapon use is a real possibility.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of “brutally violating the assurances” it gave Ukraine in 1994 and said Moscow's “reckless nuclear rhetoric” since its invasion of its smaller neighbor “is putting at risk everything the NPT has achieved in five decades.”
Putin appeared to roll back on his nuclear warning in a message of greetings to NPT participants posted on his website Monday.
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“We believe that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community,” the Russian leader said.
Putin said his country “consistently follows the letter and spirit" of the NPT and expects all parties to “strictly comply with their commitments” and make “a significant contribution" at the conference to strengthening the non-proliferation regime “to ensure peace, security and stability in the world.”
Most recently, Blinken said Russia seized Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya and is using it as a military base to fire at Ukrainians, “knowing that they can’t and won’t shoot back because they might accidentally strike a nuclear reactor or highly radioactive waste in storage.” He said this brings the notion of having “a human shield to an entirely different and horrific level.”
Russia’s delegation to the NPT issued a statement Monday night strongly rejecting Blinken’s contention that Russia is using the Zaporizhzhya plant as a military base, saying a limited number of servicemen are there “to ensure safety and security at the power plant.”
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the Ukraine conflict is “so grave that the specter of a potential nuclear confrontation, or accident, has raised its terrifying head again.”
He warned that at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant “the situation is becoming more perilous by the day,” and he urged all countries to help make possible his visit to the plant with a team of IAEA safety and security experts, saying his efforts for the past two months have been unsuccessful.
Guterres told many ministers, officials and diplomats gathered in the General Assembly Hall that the month-long review conference is taking place “at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.”
The conference is “an opportunity to hammer out the measures that will help avoid certain disaster, and to put humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons,” the secretary-general said.
But Guterres warned that “geopolitical weapons are reaching new highs,” almost 13,000 nuclear weapons are in arsenals around the world, and countries seeking “false security” are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on “doomsday weapons.”
“All this at a time when the risks of proliferation are growing and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening,” he said, “And when crises -- with nuclear undertones -- are festering from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and to many other factors around the world.”
Guterres called on conference participants to take several actions: urgently reinforce and reaffirm “the 77-year-old norm against the use of nuclear weapons,” work relentlessly toward eliminating nuclear weapons with new commitments to reduce arsenals, address “the simmering tensions in the Middle Est and Asia” and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
“Future generations are counting on your commitment to step back from the abyss,” he implored the ministers and diplomats. “This is our moment to meet this fundamental test and lift the cloud of nuclear annihilation once and for all.”
Japan’s Kishida, recalling his home city of Hiroshima where the first atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945, echoed many of Guterres’ points saying the path to a world without nuclear weapons has become harder but “giving up is not an option.”
In force since 1970, the Nonproliferation Treaty known as the NPT has the widest adherence of any arms control agreement, with some 191 countries that are members.
Under its provisions, the five original nuclear powers -- the United States, China, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Britain and France -- agreed to negotiate toward eliminating their arsenals someday and nations without nuclear weapons promised not to acquire them in exchange for a guarantee to be able to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
India and Pakistan, which didn’t join the NPT, went on to get the bomb. So did North Korea, which ratified the pact but later announced it was withdrawing. Non-signatory Israel is believed to have a nuclear arsenal but neither confirms nor denies it. Nonetheless, the treaty has been credited with limiting the number of nuclear newcomers (U.S. President John F. Kennedy once foresaw as many as 20 nuclear-armed nations) as a framework for international cooperation on disarmament.
The meeting, which ends Aug. 26, aims to generate a consensus on next steps, but expectations are low for a substantial — if any — agreement. There were 133 speakers as of Monday, plus dozens of side events.
The NPT’s five-year review was supposed to take place in 2020, when the world already faced plenty of crisis, but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patricia Lewis, former director of the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research who is now in charge of international security programs at the international affairs think tank Chatham House in London, said “President Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons have shocked the international community.”
Russia is not only an NPT signatory but a depository for treaty ratifications and in January it joined the four other nuclear powers in reiterating the statement by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that “a nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought,” she told The Associated Press.
Lewis said countries participating in the review conference will have a difficult decision to make.
To support the treaty and what it stands for, “governments will have to address Russia’s behavior and threats,” she said. “On the other hand, to do so risks dividing the treaty members -- some of whom have been persuaded by Russia’s propaganda or at least are not as concerned, for example, as the NATO states.”
And “Russia no doubt will strenuously object to being named in statements and any outcome documents,” Lewis said.
Let's build a more just, thriving workforce leaving no one behind: Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for working together to build a more just and thriving workforce, rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind.
The UN chief convened a Transforming Education Summit in September that will bring together world leaders, youth and other education actors.
"Guided by the United Nations Youth 2030 strategy, I urge everyone to act for youth skills development as a priority, at the Summit and beyond," he said wishing all a happy World Youth Skills Day.
Guterres said young people are drivers of change and must be fully engaged in decisions affecting their future.
Also read: Around 3 in 4 youth lack skills needed for employment, new report says
He highlighted the importance of transforming youth skills for the future of work.
"Young people are disproportionately impacted by interlinked global crises, from climate change to conflicts to persistent poverty," said the UN chief.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these fragilities. In 2020 alone, youth employment fell by 39 million, he said.
Today, 24 million young people remain at risk of not returning to school.
The pandemic also accelerated the transformation of the labour market, adding uncertainty and widening the digital divide.
Also read: There're no real democratic societies without press freedom: Guterres
"We must ensure the right of young people to effective and inclusive education, training, and lifelong learning. That requires ramping up youth skills development, while investing in Technical Vocational Education and Training, broadband connectivity, and digital skills," he said.
UN chief calls for more holistic approach to road safety
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a more holistic approach to road safety.
He made the remarks at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on improving road safety on Thursday.
Guterres said that road fatalities are closely linked to poor infrastructure, unplanned urbanization, lax social protection and health care systems, limited road safety literacy and persistent inequalities both within and between countries.
Also read: Perilous roads in Bangladesh; 6,284 killed in 2021: RSF
Meanwhile, he pointed out that unsafe roads are a key obstacle to development.
"Traffic accidents can push entire families into poverty through either the loss of a breadwinner or the costs associated with lost income and prolonged medical care," he said, noting that developing countries lose between 2 and 5 percent of GDP every year because of them.
UN agencies have set goals of cutting road traffic deaths and injuries by half by 2030 and promote sustainable mobility with safety at its core.
To achieve the goals need more ambitious and urgent action to reduce the biggest risks such as speeding, and increased financing for sustainable and safe infrastructure and investments in cleaner mobility and greener urban planning, the UN chief said.
"And we need to adopt a more holistic approach to road safety," he stated.
"This means better integrating road safety in national policies - from education, health, and transport to climate mitigation, land-use planning, and disaster response," he said.
The secretary-general called on all member states to accede to UN road safety conventions and implement whole-of-society action plans, taking a strong prevention approach.
He also urged all donors to scale up much-needed financial and technical contributions through the UN Road Safety Fund.
Also read: Road accidents kill 4, injure 7 in five districts
"Together, we can save lives, support development, and steer our world to safer roads ahead, leaving no one behind," he said.
UN chief calls for cease-fire on Moscow visit
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a cease-fire in Ukraine at his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Guterres is visiting Moscow and is then scheduled to visit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, this week.
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“We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialog, create the conditions for a cease-fire as soon as possible, create the conditions for a peaceful solution,” Guterres said, speaking in televised comments at the start of the meeting.
Guterres also said he wanted to reduce the impact of fighting in Ukraine on food security in other parts of the world. Lavrov said they would discuss “the situation around Ukraine that acts as a catalyst for a great number of problems which had piled up over recent decades in the Euro-Atlantic region.”
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Guterres is also expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Tuesday.
UN chief wants Ukraine humanitarian cease-fire
The United Nations chief has launched an initiative to immediately explore possible arrangements for “a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine” in order to allow the delivery of desperately needed aid and pave the way for serious political negotiations to end the month-long war.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday he asked Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, the head of the U.N.’s worldwide humanitarian operations, to explore the possibility of a cease-fire with Russia and Ukraine. He said Griffiths has already made some contacts.
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The 193-member U.N. General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority of about 140 nations, has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ukraine twice -- on March 2 and on March 24 -- and Guterres told reporters he thinks “this is the moment” for the United Nations “to assume the initiative.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the secretary-general said there has been a “senseless loss of thousands of lives,” displacement of 10 million people, systematic destruction of homes, schools, hospitals and other essential infrastructure, “and skyrocketing food and energy prices worldwide.”
Also read: Ukraine pleads for help, says Russia wants to split nation
“A Sustainable Feminist Recovery”
As the world moves ahead to mark International Women’s Day, the clock on women’s rights is moving backwards. All of us are paying the price.
The cascading crises of recent years have highlighted how women’s leadership is more crucial than ever.
Women have heroically confronted the COVID-19 pandemic as doctors, nurses, and public health and social care workers.
But at the same time, women and girls have been the first to lose out on jobs or schooling, taking on more unpaid care work, and facing skyrocketing levels of domestic and cyber abuse and child marriage.
The pandemic has highlighted even more starkly an age-old truth: the roots of patriarchy run deep. We still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture.
As a result, in good times or bad, women are more likely to fall into poverty. Their healthcare is sacrificed and their education and opportunities are curtailed.
Read:UN chief urges Putin to ‘give peace a chance’ in Ukraine
As we look to the future, a sustainable and equal recovery for all is only possible if it is a feminist recovery — one that puts progress for girls and women at its centre.
We need economic progress through targeted investments in women’s education, employment, training and decent work. Women should be first in line for the 400 million jobs we are called to create by 2030.
We need social progress through investments in social protection systems and the care economy. Such investments yield huge dividends, creating green, sustainable jobs, while supporting members of our societies that need assistance, including children, older people and the sick.
We need financial progress, to reform a morally bankrupt global financial system, so all countries can invest in a woman-centred economic recovery. This includes debt relief and fairer tax systems that channel some of the massive pockets of wealth around the world to those who need it most.
We need urgent, transformative climate action, to reverse the reckless increase in emissions and gender inequalities that have left women and girls disproportionately vulnerable. Developed countries must urgently deliver on their commitments on finance and technical support for a just transition from fossil fuels. The successful, stable economies of the future will be green, gender-inclusive and sustainable.
We need more women in leadership in government and business, including finance ministers and CEOs, developing and implementing green and socially progressive policies that benefit all their people.
We know, for example, that having more women in parliaments is linked with stronger climate commitments and higher levels of investment in healthcare and education.
We need political progress through targeted measures that ensure women’s equal leadership and representation at all levels of political decision-making, through bold gender quotas.
Gender inequality is essentially a question of power. Uprooting centuries of patriarchy demands that power is equally shared across every institution, at every level.
At the United Nations, we have achieved — for the first time in the organization’s history — gender parity in senior management at headquarters and around the world. This has dramatically improved our ability to better reflect and represent the communities we serve.
Read: UN chief says global warming goal on 'life support'
Every step of the way, we can take inspiration from women and girls pushing for progress in every sphere and every corner of our globe.
Young women climate campaigners are leading global efforts to pressure governments to live up to their commitments.
Women’s rights activists are bravely demanding equality and justice, and building more peaceful societies as peacekeepers, peacemakers and humanitarians in some of the world’s trouble zones and beyond.
In societies where women’s rights movements are vibrant, democracies are stronger.
When the world invests in expanding opportunities for women and girls, all of humanity wins.
As a matter of justice, equality, morality and plain common sense, we need to turn the clock forward on women’s rights.
We need a sustainable, feminist recovery centred around — and driven by — women and girls.
António Guterres is Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Ukraine crisis: UN chief releases $20 million for humanitarian support
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has announced the allocation of 20 million US dollars as humanitarian support to Ukraine, with the rise of fatalities following the Russian invasion of the country.
The top UN official reminded that "people – everyday innocent people -- always pay the highest price" and said this is why the UN is scaling up its humanitarian operations in and around Ukraine.
“Today I am announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million US dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs,” Guterres told reporters on Thursday.
Also read: UN chief urges Putin to ‘give peace a chance’ in Ukraine
He reiterated that the UN and its humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need.
Russian military operations inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine “on a scale that Europe has not seen in decades, conflict directly with the United Nations Charter,” he said.
Despite a sustained UN-led and international diplomatic push to avert military action in Ukraine, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin did just that – triggering a barrage of reactions, beginning with the UN chief, condemning the move and appealing for peace.
“All nembers shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,” he said, quoting the Charter.
Also read: UN chief vows to find peaceful solution to Ukraine's crisis
He underscored that the use of force by one country against another is “the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold”, which he stated, applies to the present military offensive.
"It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable. But it is not irreversible”, the UN chief said.
He went on to repeat the appeal he made to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday night. "Stop the military operation. Bring the troops back to Russia”, he reiterated.
Assisting both sides
He told journalists that UN staff are working on “both sides of the contact line”, providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, “regardless of who or where they are”.
“The protection of civilians must be priority number one," he stressed.
UN says over 100 ex-Afghan and international forces killed
The United Nations has received “credible allegations” that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban took over the country Aug. 15, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says.
In a report obtained Sunday by The Associated Press, Guterres said that “more than two-thirds” of the victims were alleged to result from extrajudicial killings by the Taliban or its affiliates, despite the Taliban’s announcement of “general amnesties” for those affiliated with the former government and U.S.-led coalition forces.
The U.N. political mission in Afghanistan also received “credible allegations of extrajudicial killings of at least 50 individuals suspected of affiliation with ISIL-KP,” the Islamic State extremist group operating in Afghanistan, Guterres said in the report to U.N. Security Council.
Read: Afghan police rescue physician from kidnappers' clutch, arrest 8 suspects
He added that despite Taliban assurances, the U.N. political mission has also received credible allegations “of enforced disappearances and other violations impacting the right to life and physical integrity” of former government and coalition members.
Guterres said human rights defenders and media workers also continue “to come under attack, intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and killings.”
Eight civil society activists were killed, including three by the Taliban and three by Islamic State extremists, and 10 were subjected to temporary arrests, beatings and threats by the Taliban, he said. Two journalists were killed — one by IS — and two were injured by unknown armed men.
The secretary-general said the U.N. missions documented 44 cases of temporary arrests, beatings and threats of intimidation, 42 of them by the Taliban.
The Taliban overran most of Afghanistan as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years. They entered Kabul on Aug. 15 without any resistance from the Afghan army or the country’s president, Ashraf Ghani, who fled.
The Taliban initially promised a general amnesty for those linked to the former government and international forces, and tolerance and inclusiveness toward women and ethnic minorities. However, the Taliban have renewed restrictions on women and appointed an all-male government, which have met with dismay by the international community.
Afghanistan’s aid-dependent economy was already stumbling when the Taliban seized power, and the international community froze Afghanistan’s assets abroad and halted economic support, recalling the Taliban’s reputation for brutality during its 1996-2001 rule and refusal to educate girls and allow women to work.
Guterres said: “The situation in Afghanistan remains precarious and uncertain six months after the Taliban takeover as the multiple political, socio-economic and humanitarian shocks reverberate across the country.”
He said Afghanistan today faces multiple crises: a growing humanitarian emergency, a massive economic contraction, the crippling of its banking and financial systems, the worst drought in 27 years, and the Taliban’s failure to form an inclusive government and restore the rights of girls to education and women to work.
“An estimated 22.8 million people are projected to be in `crisis’ and `emergency’ levels of food insecurity until March 2022,” the U.N. chief said. “Almost 9 million of these will be at `emergency’ levels of food insecurity -– the highest number in the world. Half of all children under five are facing acute malnutrition.”
On a positive note, Guterres reported “a significant decline” in the overall number of conflict-related security incidents as well as civilian casualties since the Taliban takeover. The U.N. recorded 985 security-related incidents between Aug. 19 and Dec. 31, a 91% decrease compared to the same period in 2020, he said.
The eastern, central, southern and western regions accounted for 75% of all recorded incidents, he said, with Nangarhar, Kabul, Kunar and Kandahar ranking as the most conflict-affected provinces.
Read: Islamic world pitches ways to aid desperately poor Afghans
Despite the reduction in violence, Guterres said the Taliban face several challenges, including rising attacks against their members.
“Some are attributed to the National Resistance Front comprising some Afghan opposition figures, and those associated with the former government,” he said. “These groups have been primarily operating in Panjshir Province and Baghlan’s Andarab District but have not made significant territorial inroads” though “armed clashes are regularly documented, along with forced displacement and communication outages.”
Guterres said intra-Taliban tensions along ethnic lines and competition over jobs have also resulted in violence, pointing to armed clashes on Nov. 4 between between Taliban forces in Bamyan city.
In the report, the secretary-general proposed priorities for the U.N. political mission in the current environment, urged international support to prevent widespread hunger and the country’s economic collapse, and urged the Taliban to guarantee women’s rights and human rights.
UN for investigating, prosecuting crimes against journalists, media workers
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Member States and the international community to stand in solidarity with journalists around the world and to demonstrate the political will needed to investigate and prosecute crimes against journalists and media workers with the full force of the law.
"Today, on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, we commemorate the legacy and achievements of journalists killed in the line of duty, and call for justice for crimes committed against them," he said in a message marking the day on Tuesday.
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Last year, according to UNESCO, 62 journalists around the world were killed just for doing their jobs.
Many lost their lives while covering conflict. But in recent years, the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones has risen, said the UN chief.
"In many countries, simply investigating corruption, trafficking, human rights violations or environmental issues puts journalists’ lives at risk," he said.
Impunity for killing journalists is extremely high. According to UNESCO, almost 9 out of 10 cases go unpunished.
Also read: UNDP, BDF launch “Youth Against Corruption” campaign
And journalists face countless other threats – ranging from kidnapping, torture and arbitrary detention to disinformation campaigns and harassment, particularly in the digital sphere. Women journalists are at particular risk of online violence, Guterres said.
Crimes against journalists have an enormous impact on society as a whole, because they prevent people from making informed decisions, he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and the shadow pandemic of misinformation, has demonstrated that access to facts and science is literally a matter of life and death.
"When access to information is threatened, it sends a disturbing message that undermines democracy and the rule of law," said the UN chief.
Resilience, commitment of postal workers an inspiration: UN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said they recognise the invaluable contributions of postal workers to societies and economies noting that these essential workers are an inspiration.
"As we continue to confront the Covid-19 pandemic, the resilience and commitment of these essential workers are an inspiration. We owe them our gratitude," he said in a message marking World Post Day that falls on October 9.
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The theme for this year's World Post Day – "Innovate to recover" – highlights how the postal sector is adapting to new realities and redefining itself, taking on new roles founded on digitalisation, e-commerce and financial services, he said.
"Innovate to recover" invites everyone in the international postal sector to embrace creative change and leverage technology as they together look to build forward better from the pandemic, the UN chief added.
He said the vast postal network – involving millions of workers moving billions of pieces of mail through hundreds of thousands of post offices – is woven into societies, connecting communities the world over.
"I congratulate the Universal Postal Union and the international postal sector for your tireless efforts delivering mail, providing essential services, enabling trade, and promoting literacy," Guterres said.
READ: PM releases postal stamp on Bangabandhu’s birth centenary
"The United Nations looks forward to advancing our partnership in the service of sustainable development and a better world for all," he mentioned.