The UN Security Council met intensively through Wednesday morning in New York on the Middle East crisis. It was the first open meeting since the 15-member body passed a resolution in mid-November and the first featuring foreign ministers from across the region and beyond. Briefing top diplomats, the UN chief said the world must not look away from the suffering of civilians in Gaza, calling for "a true humanitarian ceasefire" that leads to a lasting two-State solution.

World leaders at this week’s climate conference, COP28, must break the deadly cycle of global warming before a “deadly tipping point” is reached, said the UN chief.

Antarctica has been called the sleeping giant, but it is now being awoken by climate chaos, the UN Secretary-General has warned. António Guterres is in Antarctica this week, where he saw first-hand how climate change is impacting the world’s southernmost continent, which is mostly covered in ice. “Fossil fuel pollution is heating our planet, unleashing climate anarchy in Antarctica,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the Southern Ocean has taken the majority of the heat from global warming.

13 October 2023, United States of America

Why Israel Must Reconsider Its Gaza Evacuation Order

Thursday night’s order by the Israel Defense Forces to Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate their homes within 24 hours was dangerous and deeply troubling. Any demand for a mass evacuation on extremely short notice could have devastating humanitarian consequences.

via The New York Times: nytimes.com

Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to leaders from the Group of 77 developing countries (G77) and China to “fight for a world that works for all”, in his address to their summit in Havana, Cuba. “I count on your Group, who have long been champions of multilateralism, to step up, to use your power, and fight,” he said. “Champion a system rooted in equality; champion a system ready to reverse the injustice and neglect of centuries; and champion a system that delivers for all humanity and not only for the privileged.”

Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in New Delhi for the annual G20 summit with a “simple but urgent appeal” for world leaders in attendance: come together to solve humanity’s biggest challenges. Speaking on the eve of the G20 summit of advanced economies, which took place in the Indian capital on 9-10 September, Mr.

Amid rising geopolitical tension, Southeast Asia is fulfilling a “vital role in building bridges of understanding” worldwide said the UN chief. António Guterres was speaking in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the opening of the ASEAN-United Nations Summit, addressing Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and declaring “our partnership is more important than ever.” The international community faces tests “as far as the eye can see – from the climate emergency to a global cost-of-living crisis…to raging conflicts…to growing poverty, hunger, and inequalities.”

The flame of injustice is “scorching hopes and possibilities” across Africa as the world grapples with the climate crisis, with the continent suffering some of the worst impacts of global warming said the UN chief. Secretary-General António Guterres was addressing the African Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, noting that despite “extreme heat, ferocious floods, and tens of thousands dead from devastating droughts”, the continent was responsible for less than four per cent of emissions. “The blow inflicted on development is all around with growing hunger and displacement”, he said.

Highlighting the “succession of military coups” unfolding across Africa, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the need for durable democratic governance and the rule of law. Wednesday’s military takeover in Gabon came on the heels of Niger last month, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Chad, Guinea, Sudan and Mali in the years prior to that. Overall, all recent coups except Myanmar, in 2021, have taken place on African soil.

The on-going power struggle between Sudan’s top generals not only puts the future of the country at risk, but threatens to “detonate across borders”, fuelling widespread suffering that could go on for years, warned the UN chief. António Guterres was addressing an emergency session of the UN Security Council in New York, and again demanded an end to the fighting between troops loyal to Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) leader Fatttah al-Burhan, and his deputy on the so-called Transitional Sovereign Council, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti”.