Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning that the humanitarian crisis has reached “horrific proportions” and that the world must not let the suffering of Palestinians be overshadowed by other regional conflicts. Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters ahead of his departure to Spain for the International Conference on Financing for Development, the Secretary-General said that while the Israel-Iran conflict had dominated recent headlines, the plight of civilians in Gaza remained urgent and dire. 

Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the Charter’s principles are increasingly under threat and must be defended as the bedrock of international relations. “The Charter of the United Nations is not optional. It is not an à la carte menu. It is the bedrock of international relations,” he said, stressing the need to recommit to its promises “for peace, for justice, for progress, for we the peoples.”
 

The ocean is under siege – and greed is to blame. UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday urged world leaders and grassroots groups to confront the powerful interests driving marine destruction, from illegal fishing and plastic pollution to the accelerating impacts of climate change. Mr. Guterres’ stark assessment came during a press conference on the second day of the UN ocean summit, known as UNOC3, where hundreds of government leaders, scientists and civil society groups are gathered on France’s Côte D’Azur. Their mission: to confront the escalating emergency facing the world’s oceans.

Secretary-General António Guterres urged world leaders to revive efforts toward a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warning that there is no alternative. “It is absolutely essential to keep alive the two-State solution perspective with all the terrible things we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank,” Mr. Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. “And for those that doubt about the two-State solution, I ask: What is the alternative? Is it a one-state solution in which either the Palestinians are expelled or forced to live in their land without rights?”

UN Secretary-General urged world powers to uphold international maritime law and overcome geopolitical rivalries, warning that growing threats are endangering global trade, marine ecosystems and international peace. Addressing a high-level debate of the Security Council, António Guterres said that oceans and seas are “sending a clear SOS,” as maritime spaces face escalating pressure from both traditional threats and new dangers – including piracy, armed robbery, trafficking, terrorism, cyberattacks and territorial disputes. “From time immemorial, maritime routes have bound the world together,” he said.