United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, has urged the United States and China to de-escalate their rivalry, saying unilateralism can’t solve global problems.
Speaking at his traditional year-end news conference on Thursday, Guterres outlined priorities for the year ahead, saying, “We see, and many see, in relation to the future, the idea that there are two poles, one centred in the US and one centred in China.
If we want a stable world, if we want a world in which peace can be sustained, in which development can be generalised, and in which – in the end – our values will prevail, we need to support multipolarity.”
His remarks come a week after US President Donald Trump launched the ‘Board of Peace’, initially aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and supporting its reconstruction, but now expanded to address broader regional issues.
Guterres reiterated that “the basic responsibility for international peace and security lies with the UN, lies with the Security Council”.
“Only the Security Council can adopt decisions binding on all, and no other body or other coalition can legally be required to have all member states comply with decisions on peace and security,” he said.
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Renewing his long-standing call for reform of the 15-member Security Council, including its five permanent members with veto power, the UN chief said “it’s very interesting to see that those who criticise the UN for not being effective are the ones opposing the reform of the Security Council”, in an apparent dig at Trump.
“That is the reason why the UN can sometimes not be as effective as we all want,” he added.
Guterres’ second term as UN Secretary General has been dominated by major crises, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, the resurgence of conflict in Syria, the war in Sudan, the trilateral conflict in Yemen, Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Marking the beginning of his tenth and final year in office (his successor will be chosen by the General Assembly later this year) Guterres expressed hope for greater gender equality at the UN’s highest level.
“I think it is clearly time for the United Nations … to have a woman at its head,” he said, since nwoman has ever held the post of Secretary General in the organisation’s history.
“But the truth is that whether in the United Nations or in the leadership positions of the most powerful countries in the world, it is time to see women,” he added.
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