UN Chief António Guterres on 80 Years of Peacekeeping and Future Challenges

The UN's Founding Principles and Early Days

• 💡 The United Nations was founded by individuals who had witnessed the horrors of war, carrying physical and emotional wounds from World War II.
• 🧠 These founders, including Major Brian Urkuart, understood that peace is the most courageous, practical, and necessary pursuit, countering the myth that only power politics matters.
• 🤝 They established the UN as a platform for all nations to collaborate on problems too large for any single country to solve.

Current Assaults on UN Principles

• ⚠️ The principles of the United Nations are currently under unprecedented assault, with civilians targeted and international law disregarded in conflicts like Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan.
• 📈 Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals is faltering, leading to rising poverty and hunger.
• 🔥 The planet is facing severe climate chaos, evidenced by widespread fires, floods, and record heat.
• 🌍 The world is moving towards a multipolar system, which carries risks if not supported by strong multilateral institutions, as history has shown.

Strengthening the United Nations for the Future

• 🛠️ To address these multifaceted challenges, it is crucial not only to defend the UN but also to strengthen it.
• 🎯 Agenda 2030, the Pact for the Future, and the UN80 initiative are designed to renew international cooperation and ensure the UN can deliver for people globally.

Historical Triumphs and Future Tests

• ✨ The UN has achieved significant global triumphs, including the eradication of smallpox, healing the ozone layer, and crucially, preventing a third world war.
• 🚀 The next 80 years will bring familiar and new challenges, including ongoing battles against war and poverty, alongside climate chaos, runaway technologies, the militarization of space, and unforeseen crises.
• 🤝 Remembering the founders' wisdom, the only way forward is together, requiring clarity, courage, and conviction to realize the promise of peace.