On 75th UN anniversary, its chief appeals for peace
UNITED NATIONS — Born out of World War II’s devastation to prevent the scourge of conflict, the United Nations marked its 75th anniversary Monday with an appeal from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to preserve the longest period in modern history without a military confrontation between the world’s most powerful nations.
The UN chief told the mainly virtual official commemoration that “it took two world wars, millions of deaths and the horrors of the Holocaust for world leaders to commit to international cooperation and the rule of law,” and that commitment produced results.
“A Third World War — which so many had feared — has been avoided,” Guterres said. “This is a major achievement of which member states can be proud — and which we must all strive to preserve.”
His appeal came at an inflection point in history, as the United Nations navigates a polarized world facing a pandemic, regional conflicts, a shrinking economy, growing inequality and escalating US-China tensions.
US President Donald Trump was on the speaker list for the commemoration, but he did not speak. In a snub to the United Nations, the United States was represented by its acting deputy UN ambassador, Cherith Norman Chalet. The White House had no immediate comment.
“In many ways, the United Nations has proven to be a successful experiment,” Chalet said. But for too long, she added, it has resisted “meaningful reform,” lacked transparency and been “too vulnerable to the agenda of autocratic regimes and dictatorships.”
“New threats require new agility from the UN,” she said, citing theft of intellectual property and efforts to
“undermine Internet freedom.”
Guterres cited other major UN achievements over 75 years: peace treaties and peacekeeping missions, decolonization, setting human rights standards, “the triumph over apartheid” in South Africa, eradication of diseases, a steady reduction in hunger, development of international law and landmark pacts to protect the environment.
But today, he warned, “climate calamity looms, biodiversity is collapsing, poverty is rising, hatred is spreading, geopolitical tensions are escalating, nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert.” What’s more, new technologies have produced opportunities “but also exposed new threats.”
In an AP interview in June, Guterres said the UN’s biggest failing was its inability to prevent medium and small conflicts.
And 25 years after world leaders meeting in Beijing adopted a 150page platform to achieve equality for women, he said Monday that “gender inequality remains the greatest single challenge to human rights around the world.”