Universal Dependencies - English - GUM

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The Charter of the United Nations sends a clear message to us all: put people first.

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The first words of the Charter, “We the peoples”, are a summons to place people at the centre of our work — every day, everywhere.

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People with anxieties and aspirations, people with heartbreaks and hopes and, above all, people with rights.

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Those rights are not a favour to be rewarded or withheld; they are an endowment for simply being human.

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Throughout the first half of my mandate, I have had the good fortune to meet people around the world, not in gilded meeting rooms but where they live, work and dream.

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And I have listened.

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I have heard families in the South Pacific who fear their lives being swept away by rising seas; young refugees in the Middle East yearning for a return to school and home; Ebola survivors in North Kivu struggling to rebuild their lives; women demanding equality and opportunity; people of all beliefs and traditions who suffer simply because of who they are; and so many others.

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We are living in a world of disquiet.

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A great many people fear getting trampled, thwarted, left behind.

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Machines take their jobs, traffickers take their dignity, demagogues take their rights, warlords take their lives, fossil fuels take their futures.

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And yet people believe in the spirit and ideas that bring us to this Hall.

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They believe in the United Nations.

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But do they believe in us?

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Do they believe that, as leaders, we will put people first?

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We the leaders must deliver for we the peoples.

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People have the right to live in peace.

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One year ago in this Hall, I spoke of winds of hope despite the chaos and confusion of our world (see A/73/PV.6).

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Since then, some of those currents have continued to move in promising directions.

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Against the expectations of many, elections unfolded peacefully in Madagascar, the Maldives and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to name just a few places.

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Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia resolved their decades-long name dispute.

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Political dialogue in the Sudan and the peace process in the Central African Republic have brought renewed hope.

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A long-sought step forward has just been taken on the political path out of the tragedy in Syria, in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015).

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As I announced yesterday, an agreement has been reached with all parties for a credible, balanced and inclusive Syrian-owned and Syrian-led constitutional committee.

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My Special Envoy just left Damascus after finalizing the last details with the Government and the opposition.

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The United Nations looks forward to convening the committee in Geneva in the coming weeks.

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However, across the global landscape, we see conflicts persisting, terrorism spreading and the risk of a new arms race growing.

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Outside interferences, often in violation of Security Council resolutions, make peace processes more difficult.

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Many situations remain unresolved, from Yemen and Libya to Afghanistan and beyond.

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A succession of unilateral actions threatens to thwart a two-State solution between Israel and Palestine.

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In Venezuela, 4 million people have fled the country — one of the largest displacements in the world.

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Tensions are heightened in South Asia, where differences need to be addressed through dialogue.

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Above all, we are facing the alarming possibility of armed conflict in the Gulf, the consequences of which the world can not afford.

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The recent attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities was completely unacceptable.

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In a context where a minor miscalculation can lead to a major confrontation, we must do everything possible to push for reason and restraint.

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I hope for a future in which all the countries of the region can live in a state of mutual respect and cooperation, without interference in each other’s affairs.

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I hope equally that it will still be possible to preserve the progress on nuclear non-proliferation represented by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

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From the first day, I have emphasized prevention, mediation and a surge in diplomacy for peace in order to address the crises that we face.

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Consider the lives that we can save by strengthening our investments to sustain peace around the world.

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Across some of the most troubled corners of the world, some 100,000 United Nations peacekeepers protect civilians and promote peace.

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Through the Action for Peacekeeping initiative, we are strengthening our effectiveness and efficiency and we are renewing partnerships with troop- and police-contributing countries, host countries and regional organizations, such as the African Union and the European Union.

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I am also proud of the work of our humanitarian workers, easing suffering around the world.

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Fully half of all international relief aid is channelled through the United Nations, ensuring that millions receive protection, food, medicine, shelter, water and other life-saving forms of assistance.

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This year alone, in brutal attacks and other circumstances, we have lost at least 80 peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and others, all of whom gave their lives serving the United Nations and trying to better the lives of others.

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I honour their service and their sacrifice.

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We have bolstered our counter-terrorism architecture and defined new strategies to tackle violent extremism and to address root causes, while respecting human rights.

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I have put forward a new disarmament agenda to advance global peace.

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In the near term, the New START Treaty must be extended.

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We must work to address the heightened threat posed by ballistic missiles and ensure a successful 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

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The situation of the Korean peninsula remains uncertain.

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I fully support the efforts towards a new summit between the President of the United States and the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

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At this time of transition and dysfunction in global power relations, there is a new risk looming on the horizon that may not yet be large but it is real.

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I fear the possibility of a great fracture — the world splitting in two, with the two largest economies on Earth creating two separate and competing worlds, each with their own dominant currency, trade and financial rules, their own Internet and artificial intelligence capacities and their own zero-sum geopolitical and military strategies.

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We must do everything possible to avert the great fracture and maintain a universal system — a universal economy with universal respect for international law, a multipolar world with strong multilateral institutions.