At the inauguration, the head of the United Nations, António Guterres, warned of a social outbreak due to the crises caused by the war in Ukraine, climate catastrophes and food insecurity.
(New York – Agencies) – War in Ukraine, climate catastrophes, food insecurity. UN Secretary-General António Guterres alerted the world’s leaders to the “perfect storm” looming over the planet that will provoke a “winter of protests”, at the opening of a deeply divided General Assembly.
The crisis of purchasing power is raging, confidence is crumbling, inequalities are soaring, our planet is burning, people are suffering, especially the most vulnerable” and yet “we are locked in a colossal global dysfunction,” said Guterres at this major annual diplomatic event, which is being held in person for the first time in two years disrupted by the covid-19 pandemic.
These crises threaten the very future of humanity and the fate of the planet,” he warned, before predicting that “a winter of discontent is on the horizon.
In his long speech full of pessimism about the future of the planet, Guterres acknowledged his helplessness in the face of “political divisions that undermine the work of the Security Council, international law, people’s trust and faith in democratic institutions.” “We cannot go on like this,” he warned.
Adding to the ravages of the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has now exacerbated escalating food and energy prices causing food insecurity for millions of people around the world.
“We are not resigned to the fracturing of the world,” said French President Emmanuel Macron in a widely applauded speech, in which he urged all leaders to reject the “new order” of division that “imperialist” Russia is trying to impose with the war in Ukraine.
The situation of our planet increases our demands,” he said, wishing for a “collective shake-up” to “build a new contract between North and South”.
This becomes more urgent, if possible, after the war in Ukraine initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We all have a role to play in ending it, as we all pay the price,” he asserted.
At the UN rostrum, most developing countries, including Latin Americans, called for a negotiated way out of the war in Ukraine, which has exacerbated the ravages of two years of pandemic.
UN chief António Guterres also urged rich countries to tax windfall profits of fossil fuel companies and use that money to help countries hurt by the climate crisis and people struggling with rising food and energy prices. The fossil fuel industry is feasting on billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns,” Guterres said.
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Venezuela’s intelligence services are committing crimes against humanity under orders from the highest levels of government to repress the opposition, the UN said yesterday.
This plan was orchestrated at the highest political level, led by President Nicolas Maduro (…)”, said Marta Valiñas, president of the UN Independent International Mission on Venezuela, in a press conference.
The conclusions of the report show the role of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service and the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM) in carrying out these outrages.
The mission documented 122 cases of victims who were “subjected to torture, sexual violence and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” perpetrated by DGCIM agents from 2014 to the present.
We find this very worrying, as we believe it is part of a higher escalation against human rights organizations and against those who today denounce the policy of repression of President Nicolás Maduro”, indicated spokespersons of the NGO Provea.
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