PRESS CONFERENCE OPENING REMARKS BY SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2020
[FULL TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE LATER TODAY]
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
As you know, 2020 marks a milestone for the United Nations – our 75th anniversary.
Too often, governments and international institutions are viewed as places that talk – not as places that listen.
I want the United Nations, in this anniversary, essentially to listen – so we are marking our anniversary based on conversations in every corner of the world about the future we want and the United Nations we need.
There is no doubt that people have much to say.
The disquiet in streets and squares across the world is proof that people want to be heard.
They want world leaders to answer their anxieties with effective action.
That means addressing cascading challenges and breaking what I call the vicious circles that define our day.
One such vicious circle is in the realm of peace and security – making conflicts longer, more lethal and more likely to erupt in the first place.
Tensions were of course high as the last year ended, but we were moving in the right direction in a number of hotspots. We were seeing signs of de-escalation and some measure of progress.
That’s all changed.
I have spoken recently about winds of hope. But today a wind of madness is sweeping the globe.
From Libya to Yemen to Syria and beyond – escalation is back. Arms are flowing and offensives are increasing.
All situations are different but there is a feeling of growing instability and hair-trigger tensions, which makes everything far more unpredictable and uncontrollable, with a heightened risk of miscalculation.
Meanwhile, Security Council resolutions are being disrespected even before the ink is dry.
As we can see, problems feed each other.
As economies falter, poverty remains entrenched.
As future prospects look bleak, populist and ethnic nationalist narratives gain appeal.
As instability rises, investment dries up, and development cycles down.
When armed conflicts persist, societies reach perilous tipping points.
And as governance grows weak, terrorists get stronger, seizing on the [vacuum.]
In the year ahead I will press to break the vicious circles of suffering and conflict and to push for a strong surge of diplomacy for peace.
I would like to announce today that I will be attending the African Union Summit this coming weekend in Addis Ababa.
The African Union is one of the UN’s leading strategic partners, and I look forward to discussing the continent’s efforts to “silence the guns” as well as our shared work to address the full range of global challenges.
Another clear vicious circle is exacerbating the climate crisis.
As oceans warm, ice melts, and we lose the vital service the ice sheets perform - reflecting sunlight, thus further increasing ocean warming.
And as ice melts and the oceans warm, sea levels rise and more water evaporates, fueling ever greater rainfall, threatening coastal cities and deltas.
Last year, ocean heat and mean sea level reached their highest on record. Scientists tell us that ocean temperatures are now rising at the equivalent of five Hiroshima bombs a second.
Ecosystems are suffering the fallout.
A recent study found that ocean heat in 2019 was 228 Zetta Joules above the 1981-2010 average; a Zetta is a “1” followed by 21 zeroes.
To put that in context, this rise in ocean heat last year is more than twenty times the amount of energy humanity has consumed since 2000.
Meanwhile, as permafrost disappears, and as tundra thaws earlier and freezes later, vast amounts of methane – a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide – enter the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.
And as forests burn, the world loses vital carbon sinks and emissions skyrocket.
The smoke from Australia’s fires is now itself a literal vicious circle – circling the globe, releasing the equivalent of as much as six months of the country’s total carbon emissions in 2018.
What happens in Australia doesn’t stay in Australia – and the same can be said about any part of the world.
A new climate crisis alert by the World Meteorological Organization today indicates that CO2 concentrations will reach new highs [in] 2020.
The challenge for this year’s climate conference in Glasgow, COP 26, is clear: all countries must show more ambition on adaptation, mitigation and finance.
And the big emitters must lead the way.
We need a price on carbon, and an end to subsidies for fossil fuels.
We are still seeing too many plans for coal plants – the addiction to coal remains dangerously strong.
There is some good news. Awareness of the risks is growing. Announcements of climate action by governments and the private sector are gathering steam. Investments are increasing.
Minds are changing.
This year’s conferences on oceans, sustainable transport and biodiversity are further opportunities for action.
But we need to keep up the pressure to break the vicious circle that is propelling both humankind and the natural world to the point of no return.
Now is also the time to break the vicious circle of poverty and inequality and to shape a fair globalization leaving no one behind.
The Sustainable Development Goals are, as you know, our blueprint.
Development is a goal in its own right. But it is also our best form of prevention.
We have just launched a Decade of Action to deliver the Goals – a great, global mobilization.
Finance, of course, will be critical.
We know that progress on one Goal can generate progress on all – the virtuous circle we know is possible and that can point the way toward growth and prosperity for all.
This is crucial across all fronts – including education, gender equality, health and working together to confront new challenges such as the outbreak of the corona virus we are facing now.
As we can see from the challenges I have outlined today, multilateral institutions are needed more than ever and must be tuned to the challenges of the 21st century.
I will continue my efforts to build both a networked multilateralism, with the United Nations and all international organizations working together, and an inclusive multilateralism able to listen and incorporate the contributions of business, civil society, local and regional authorities, and young people.
Despite often deep divisions among Member States, I am determined to keep listening to people, to speaking out for reason, holding fast to principles, and guide myself and the UN by the mission and values of the UN Charter.
That’s how we will break the vicious circles and deliver for people and I thank you.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE U.N. SYSTEM
LIBYA
In a press conference in Geneva, Ghassan Salamé, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, said that the military officers attending the “5+5” meeting had started an attempt to transform the current truce into a real agreement on a lasting ceasefire.
Mr. Salamé said that he was happy to report that both sides would meet today in order to bridge the gaps so that a lasting and sustainable ceasefire can be organized on the ground. He said the details they were to discuss included what kind of monitoring, what kind of role for the UN and what kind of role for the Libyan authorities should be put in place, as well as what kind of action should be taken in terms of heavy weaponry.
YEMEN
The Head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) and the Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Abhijit Guha, said he was deeply concerned by the aerial strike that took place in Al Dahi district (north of Hudaydah city), on 31 January.
Lt. Gen. Guha notes that any aerial attack undermines the spirit of the Hudaydah Agreement and jeopardizes its implementation.
He urges the parties to work in good faith, and jointly, through the RCC and the Ceasefire Enhancement and De-escalation Mechanism, to ensure that the ceasefire is respected, and that de-escalation is sustained on the ground. UNMHA reiterates its commitment to support the parties in this regard.
BOLIVIA
The Secretary General’s Envoy for Bolivia, Jean Arnault, today issued a statement on the upcoming presidential elections in the country.
He said that as of today, the candidates who will participate in the next general elections will be able to conduct electoral campaign, marking a decisive stage of the electoral process and the consolidation of peace begins in Bolivia.
He stressed the importance of carrying out the electoral process with full respect for political rights and fundamental freedoms, particularly since the political climate is one of uncertainty.
Mr. Arnault said the United Nations will do everything possible to support the country's efforts towards a credible, transparent and inclusive election. The UN will provide technical assistance, assist with monitoring that human rights are respected and in solving of conflicts that may arise during the process.
COLOMBIA
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today welcomed Colombia’s decision to regularize the stay of Venezuelans in the country. The government announced the creation of two new Special Stay Permits that seek to benefit more than 100,000 Venezuelans, by allowing them to stay and work in the country.
Colombia is host to more than 1.6 million Venezuelans, of whom more than half, lack a regular status. Many of them face difficulties accessing essential services, such as health, education and employment.
UNHCR said it remains committed to support governments across Latin America and the Caribbean to regularize the situation of Venezuelans currently living in an irregular situation, adding that this year, $1.35 billion will be needed to respond to the increasing needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants and the communities hosting them.
SOMALIA
Somalia and the United Nations have called for urgent humanitarian assistance to avert an acute food insecurity situation that could threaten millions of people.
The call was made during the launch of the post-Deyr (October - December) seasonal Food Security and Nutrition Assessment for the country on Monday.
The assessment notes that up to 1.3 million people in Somalia face acute food security and require urgent humanitarian assistance. At the same time, more than 690,000 children below five years of age could become acutely malnourished by the end of the year.
The UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula,
also noted that although the recent desert locust invasion in Somalia had been limited and localized, it carries a high risk of damage to crops.
SOUTH SUDAN
Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, welcomes the release of 78 women and 50 children, held for many months in military bases located in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria region.
The women and children are receiving support from the United Nations and its partners. They have also been referred to medical and psychosocial support structures. Several women have already been identified as pregnant and have been referred to prenatal healthcare facilities.
The women and children released were amongst more than 500 abducted between April and August 2018, and held by pro-Riek Machar Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO RM).
Pramila Patten said the release of these women and children followed many months of sustained advocacy and engagement with Dr. Riek Machar and his local commanders by her Office, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and the Senior Women Protection Advisor.
The Office of the Special Representative will build on this positive momentum to advocate for the release of the remaining women and children who continue to be held by armed opposition forces across Western Equatoria, and will sustain calls for accountability for sexual violence crimes in order to prevent and deter future violations.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION – WORLD CANCER DAY
As we mark World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have released two coordinated reports in response to government calls for more research into the scope and potential policies and programmes to improve cancer control.
WHO highlighted the need to step up cancer services in low and middle-income countries. At least 7 million lives could be saved over the next decade, said WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He added that this could be achieved by identifying the most appropriate science for each country situation, by basing strong cancer responses on universal health coverage, and by mobilizing different stakeholders to work together.
In 2019, more than 90% of high-income countries reported that comprehensive treatment services for cancer were available in the public health system compared to less than 15% of low-income countries.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Today, we are happy to announce that Bhutan, Morocco and Samoa have paid their regular budget dues in full. This takes the number of fully paid-up Member States to 38.
