Days away from the Summit of the Future and the opening of the 79th UN General Assembly, Secretary-General appealed to Member States for “a spirit of compromise,” and “show the world what we can do, when we work together.” Secretary-General António Guterres today (18 Sep) spoke to reporters in New York. He said, “The Summit of the Future is an essential first step towards making global institutions more legitimate, effective, and fit for the world of today and tomorrow,” urging Member States to “seize this opportunity.” The UN chief emphasized the critical role of the Summit of Future, as it was born out of a cold, hard fact: international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them. Guterres also stated that many of the challenges the world faces today were not on the radar 80 years ago when the multilateral institutions were born. The founders of the UN understood that times would change, he said, adding that though values that underpin the global institutions are timeless – the institutions themselves cannot be frozen in time. Guterres said, “Like our founders, we cannot know precisely what the future holds. But we don’t need a crystal ball to see that 21st century challenges require global problem-solving mechanisms that are more effective, networked and inclusive; That serious power imbalances in global institutions must be adjusted and updated; And that our institutions must draw on the expertise and representation of all of humanity.” “Change will not happen overnight. But it can start today,” the Secretary-General highlighted. He said, “when we look at the work that was already done in preparation for the Summit of the Future, we see movement in the right direction.” Guterres noted the strongest language on Security Council reform in a generation; the first set of governance measures for new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence; a major advance in reform of the International Financial Architecture, a step change in financing the Sustainable Development Goals and a commitment to advance the SDG Stimulus, multiplying the resources available to developing countries. “The list goes on. It would be tragic if all of this would be lost,” the UN chief reiterated. The Summit of the Future (22-23 Sep.) will produce an inter-governmentally negotiated, action-oriented Pact for the Future with chapters on Sustainable development and financing for development; International peace and security; Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; Youth and future generations; and Transforming global governance. Asked about reports that a large number of communication devices exploded across Lebanon, as well as in Syria, Guterres said, “As important as the event in itself, is the indication that this event confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.” Asked about the situation in Sudan, the UN chief expressed deep frustration with the fact that the present situation “is such that the two parties feel that they can do whatever they want, that nothing will happen to them. And this is the situation of impunity that unfortunately we see in other parts of the world.” Asked about Gaza, Guterres said, “in our opinion, it is important that that the ceasefire creates the conditions for a transition for the Palestinian Authority to assume authority in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and for that to be the basis for the construction of a Two-State Solution.” Asked about Haiti, the UN chief said, “it’s really quite difficult to understand the fact that we’ve got to the point where we’re talking about a peacekeeping operation where there’s no peace to be maintained. No peace to keep there in a situation where it’s impossible to find the money required for one of the most disastrous humanitarian situations in the whole world.” “To be perfectly honest with you, for me this is something that I’m really struggling to understand. And it’s something that I feel very strongly,” Guterres added.
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