UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed hopes Tuesday for a close and strong cooperation between countries to serve and support people during such “extraordinary moment” and to fulfill the great promises and potentials of the multilateralism in the United Nations, promising the international community full support and partnership.
This came during Guterres’ speech at the opening of the work of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which is the first session to be held in attendance after the cancellation of the 75th session of the General Assembly last year due to the repercussions of the pandemic, where recorded speeches were delivered. “The pandemic has proven to be one of the most challenging the world has faced since World War II, once again deepening inequality, destroying economies and plunging millions of people into extreme poverty,” Guterres said.
UN chief indicated that during the past year, the General Assembly sought an ambitious global vaccination campaign, strengthening health systems and conducting screening tests for the Coronavirus, which are the largest health and precautionary measures in history. Guterres commended the General Assembly’s vital work last year in the areas of peace and security, disarmament, human rights, gender equality and sustainable development, and oversaw the adoption of resolutions on key issues such as peacebuilding, combating terrorism, preventing crimes against humanity, tackling climate change and ending human trafficking. He continued, “the spirit of partnership and unity in a common cause like a pandemic is the beating heart of our work here at the United Nations, especially in the face of other challenges such as peace, climate change, poverty, inequality and the threat to lives and livelihoods.” “These challenges are made worse by the divisions that frighten our world at all levels, and I stress the need to accelerate our response by investing in vaccines, treatment, health care, nutrition, water, education and commitment to climate goals during the climate conference to be held in Glasgow next November,” he added.
Source-KUNA