Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /   Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at UN New York world headquarters Sep. 18, 2019 to mark the opening of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –   NEW  YORK –   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has a short and sweet message for the world leaders and diplomats from 193 nations  who will be descending on New York City this week for the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).  

“My message to world leaders is simple.  Put people first. Their needs. Their aspirations. Their rights. People want solutions, commitments, and action.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Global climate change is to get top billing  at this year’s  74th session of the UNGA.  Speaking at a press conference Wednesday at UN New York City world headquarters,  Secretary-Guterres  said the world is at a critical moment on several fronts – the climate emergency, rising inequality, an increase in hatred and intolerance, as well as an alarming number of peace and security challenges. “Tensions are rising everywhere. We are losing the race against climate change.” The UN chief said the biggest challenge that leaders and institutions face is to show people “we care – and to mobilize solutions that respond to people’s anxieties with answers.”

“This is the moment to cool tensions, and nowhere is that more important than in the Gulf. This is also the time to promote dialogue and pave the way to political solutions from Libya to Yemen, from Syria to Israel-Palestine, from Afghanistan to South Sudan. With the very high number of world leaders coming to the United Nations, we have a chance to advance diplomacy for peace.”

-Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

UN Photo/Cia Pak   /  Opening of Seventy-fourth Session of General Assembly  /  Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (centre at dais), President of the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly, opens the first plenary meeting of the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly. At left is Secretary-General António Guterres and at right is Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, 17 September 2019

Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /   Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at UN New York world headquarters Sep. 18, 2019 .

The U.N.’s Climate Action Summit begins on September 23, and will be in the spotlight as global leaders address their concerns about the changing environment.

“I went to the Bahamas a few days ago.  The level of devastation was unlike anything I have ever seen.  Hurricane Dorian was indeed Hurricane Hell.  And, unfortunately, extreme weather events will only produce more hellscapes for more people,”  Secretary-General Guterres stated.  He added that  the UNGA will showcase promising initiatives aiming at moving away from coal, putting a price on carbon, stopping subsidies for fossil fuels, and cutting the pollution that damages our health.

Secretary-General Guterres also addressed global tensions in the Gulf region in response to a press question.

“I think the mission of the Security Council is to deal with all the threats to peace and security, and I don’t think there is a more serious threat to peace and security in the world by than what’s happening in the Gulf, so this is clearly an area where I am absolutely sure the Security Council has a key role to play.”

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video /  Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at UN New York world headquarters Sep. 18, 2019 .

UN Secretary-General Hopes U.S. Will Remove SUDAN  From List Of Sponsors of State Terrorism

“And Sudan is a matter of great hope for us. I believe that what was possible in the dialogue in Sudan demonstrates that all political conflicts can be solved by dialogue when there is political will for that, and this should be a lesson for everywhere else in the world. It is time now for the international community to support Sudan. Sudan is in a very dire economic situation, in a very dramatic economic situation. I hope that all the restrictions that exist about Sudan, namely, the classification as a country that support terrorism and sanctions, will be quickly removed. And I hope that there will be a massive mobilisation of resources to support Sudan overcome the extremely difficult economic situation that the country has, because, if that doesn’t happen, obviously, we risk that the gains in democracy, human rights, and political solutions that were observed could be put into question.”

Is  The  Job of  UN  Secretary‑General   The Most Impossible  Job in the World?

Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres

“Well, I’m not sure if it is the most impossible job in the world. I think that, for someone that works in one of the least developed countries and works 50 hours per week and has a salary of $2 or $3 per day, that job is worse than mine. No? So, there are worse jobs than this, because I recognise that, in this job, as in all the other jobs I’ve done, both in the Portuguese political life and then as High Commissioner for Refugees, I’ve been enormously privileged. And, as you know, I’m Catholic, which, of course, doesn’t matter for this purpose, but the most important thing in my life as a guiding line is the Parable of the Talents, which means that those who have received more talents ‑‑ talents were the currency of the Roman Empire, but we can have our interpretations ‑‑ have the responsibility to multiply them and to put them at the service of the people that have not received them. I think I’m enormously privileged, and the most difficult part of my job is to be able to correspond that privilege and to do everything I can for the billions of people that live in very difficult circumstances in the world. Many of them I met in the most tragic of those circumstances when I was High Commissioner for Refugees.”

-UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.