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2023 UN General Assembly's top objective, according to António Guterres
Every year, world leaders and top diplomats descend on New York City for the annual UN General Assembly, or "UNGA," as it's known. And this year's UNGA promises to be a blockbuster week, given the array of urgent global challenges facing the United Nations. From an unending war in Ukraine, lurching into its third year, to a climate-battered planet that UN Secretary-General has described as "Global Boiling," to growing hunger and poverty worldwide, there's plenty to discuss.
But what's the one thing to watch out for? That's what Ian Bremmer asks UN Secretary-General António Guterres in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview for GZERO World, days ahead of UNGA week. "There will be of course a lot of discussions on Ukraine," Guterres tells Bremmer, "But our most important objective in this week is in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals Summit. And the possibility not only to improve a declaration that is far-reaching, but to have a number of strong commitments by member states and by other entities in relation to the sustainable rules in general and climate in particular."
It remains to be seen if the Ukraine war will suck all the oxygen out of the room, or if member nations can agree on which urgent global challenges to tackle first.
Watch the full GZERO World interview: UN Chief on mounting global crises: "Hope never dies"
Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld and on US public television. Check local listings.
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Peace in Ukraine is world's priority, says UN chief António Guterres
As the 78th annual UN General Assembly week gets underway in New York—bringing diplomats, ministers, and heads of state together— there is a growing divide in the international community over Ukraine. In the US we’ve heard rumblings from GOP candidates about decreasing or stopping aid, and the once favorable opinion among Americans for continued support has dropped.
Leaders from the Global South, such as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, are calling for a shift in focus away from Europe to getting international development back on track, to talking about debt relief and increasing access to financing. They want to see real progress on the much-vaunted “Sustainable Development Goals” that member nations have vowed to accomplish by 2030. What they don’t want to do is to spend the entire week talking about a distant European war.
But, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres tells Ian Bremmer in an exclusive interview for GZERO World, ending the war in Ukraine is the top priority. “The single most important thing is to have peace in Ukraine," Guterres tells Ian. "The war in Ukraine is a complicating factor of everything else, so the first thing that we need is to stop that war.”
Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
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Why should the UN listen to the private sector?
The UN is used to mostly dealing with governments, which represent member states, but they no longer monopolize power. That's why Secretary-General António Guterres says he also wants the private sector, cities, civil society, and especially youth to have a voice. In fact, young people make Guterres feel optimistic about the future, and he hopes that they'll continue waking up political leaders as citizens of the world.
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: UN Sec-Gen: Without trust, catastrophe awaits
UN Sec-Gen: Without trust, catastrophe awaits
António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, does not mince words when it comes to the dire state of the world. "We are standing at the edge of an abyss," Guterres warns. COVID is "defeating" the global community and a climate catastrophe is all but assured without drastic action. Amidst this unprecedented peril, there remains a startling lack of trust among nations. And yet, there is still hope. In a frank (and in-person!) GZERO World interview, Ian Bremmer heads to the UN ahead of the annual General Assembly week to discuss COVID, climate, the US-China rift, and the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
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UN Secretary-General Guterres has a warning for disunited nations
In a frank (and in-person!) interview, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, speaks with Ian Bremmer at the UN ahead of the annual General Assembly week. Guterres discusses COVID, climate, the US-China rift, and the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, and does not mince words when it comes to the dire state of the world. "We are standing at the edge of an abyss," Guterres warns. COVID is "defeating" the global community and a climate catastrophe is all but assured without drastic action. Amidst this unprecedented peril, there remains a startling lack of trust among nations. And yet, there is still hope.
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