Guterres denounces violence in West Bank and Ukraine, warns of two-state solution and calls for Security Council reform

In his speech to the 81st General Assembly, the UN secretary general spoke of "violence, displacement and settlement expansion are demolishing the path to peace and raising the specter of ethnic cleansing". Then, speaking of Gaza, he said: "We cannot allow the two-state solution to disappear." And on the conflict in Ukraine: "The Russian invasion has dragged a sovereign country into brutal war"

In the West Bank there is the "specter of ethnic cleansing", due to Israeli violence, the expansion of settlements and the forced displacement of Palestinians who are "destroying the path to peace". This was denounced by the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres at the opening of the 81st session of the General Assembly. More generally, the top UN official called for using high-level meetings this week in New York to pursue de-escalation and dialogue in the Middle East. ''Enough is enough. I ask world leaders to commit to peace,'' he underlined. Then he specifically explained: ''What in the Middle East is called a ceasefire is nothing more than a firefight, albeit less intense. We cannot allow the two-state solution to vanish before our eyes." According to Guterres, "the offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza", following the "abominable terrorist attacks by Hamas" on 7 October 2023, had "a scale of death and destruction unprecedented in all my years as Secretary General" (CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST, FOLLOW THE UPDATES LIVE).

"Alarming escalation spiral in Ukraine, more and more civilian victims"

Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, Guterres spoke of an "alarming and dangerous spiral of escalation", where the number of civilian casualties far from the front lines is growing. ''In Ukraine, Russia's full-scale invasion has subjected a sovereign country to a brutal war, in clear violation of the Charter. Civilians continue to be killed far from the front lines. Mainly in Ukraine, but also more recently in some areas of Russia: homes, water and energy systems and transport infrastructure have been repeatedly attacked, threatening food and energy supply chains globally,'' he underlined (RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR, FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES).

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Guterres: "AI is an epochal turning point, the USA and China must collaborate responsibly"

Regarding the use of artificial intelligence, for Guterres it represents an "epochal turning point", which could offer a series of opportunities, including in the fields of medicine and science, but there is the risk of "technology without responsibility", in "capacity without supervision" and in "decision-making without transparency". Speaking about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, Guterres said that "killer robots must have no place in our future." Governments with the greatest AI capabilities, namely China and the United States, have the greatest responsibility towards humanity, Guterres stressed, calling on Beijing and Washington to establish effective communication channels and work on common safeguards. “Let us strive to ensure that life and death decisions are never entrusted to machines,” the UN secretary general told world leaders.

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"The Security Council must be reformed, giving Africa a seat"

The UN Secretary General also called for a reform of the United Nations Security Council, underlining the need for Africa to be assigned at least one seat. “A 21st-century Security Council without permanent African seats is unjust and indefensible,” he said at the opening of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, adding: “This situation must change.” A statement that was greeted with applause. The Security Council, whose five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, has long been criticized for representing a reality that prevailed at the end of World War II, when much of Africa was still under colonial rule. The African Union has long campaigned for the continent to have two permanent representatives on the council and two more seats as non-permanent representatives.

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"Cooperation essential for stability"

Shortly before, Guterres also underlined that ''military power alone cannot guarantee peace, economic power alone cannot guarantee stability. Technological power alone cannot guarantee safety''. Then he added: ''A multipolar interconnected world can create the conditions for a more balanced and representative resolution of global problems", said Guterres, convinced that ''to build the future it is important to build a network'', even ''the superpowers have limited power, the events of recent years have made this increasingly clear''. Guterres then underlined that ''cooperating is fundamental for global stability''.