UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged flexibility to tackle global challenges, from the climate crisis to the dangers of artificial intelligence.
He made this appeal in a letter sent on Tuesday, on the occasion of the “United Nations Day”, and published by the official website of the UN organization.
In his letter, Guterres said that the UN reflects the world as it is, but also envisions the world as it can be.
“Our duty is to help build a world of peace, sustainable development, and human rights for all,” he added. He continued: “I know we can achieve this. The UN Charter – which came into force 78 years ago on this day – shows us the way. Above all, the charter embodies a spirit of resolve to end divisions, heal relationships, build peace, and expand opportunities, and a commitment to justice, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls,” he said.
“The UN Charter also embodies a resolve to provide life-saving relief to those in need and to remain adaptable enough to face challenges that did not exist when the UN was founded-from the existential climate crisis to the threats and opportunities that artificial intelligence poses,” Guterres noted.
“The UN is guided by values and principles that are timeless but must never be frozen in time. That is why we must always keep improving our ways of working and applying a 21st-century lens to everything we do.”
He called for “a pledge of hope and determination to build the better world we aspire to, and a future that lives up to the name of our organization. Our world is divided, but we can, and we must, be the United Nations.”
