Thinking of Nearly 200 UN Staff Perished in Gaza, UN Secretary-General Humbly Accepts Award from Uzbekistan (excerpt)

1 July 2024

(Excerpt)

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Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks upon receiving the highest order of the Dostlik Award, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, today:

I am deeply grateful for one more gesture of the wonderful hospitality I have been enjoying here in Uzbekistan.  I don’t think I deserve this high decoration, but I feel more comforted when I think about all my colleagues that are giving their lives, almost 200 in Gaza, in other parts of the world, to support the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, and to do everything to minimize human suffering in this world full of conflicts and of natural disasters, in which a combination of geopolitical divides, climate change and other challenges make the global situation of peace and security extremely fragile.

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Complete remarks are available here.