Guterres’ speech summed up the state of the world as unsustainable, but said the challenges faced couldbe solved
News Desk
New York: US President Joe Biden, addressing the 79th, and his last, United Nations General Assembly session in New York on Wednesday, reiterated his support for a two-state solution, highlighting that the creation of a peaceful Palestinian state is the only path to permanent peace in the region.
“Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” Biden said, urging for continued dialogue despite the escalating violence. His remarks came as Israel continued military strikes in Lebanon, raising concerns of an expanding conflict.
Biden, who has faced criticism for his administration’s unwavering support for Israel, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where violence has escalated. He expressed deep concern for the plight of “innocent civilians” in the blockaded Palestinian enclave, describing their suffering as “hell.”
The US president proposed a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, stating that such an agreement would help bring hostages home, secure Israel’s safety, and alleviate the crisis in Gaza.
He also warned against the risks of a broader “full-scale war” as Israel continues its operations in Lebanon, stressing the need for diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation.
Turning to the war in Ukraine, Biden condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, asserting that it had failed to achieve its core objective of destroying Ukraine.
He called on the international community to keep supporting Kyiv until victory is achieved, highlighting that “Ukraine is still free.”
Biden also voiced support for reforms to the UN Security Council, signalling Washington’s openness to expansion and changes within the body.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced on Tuesday a growing number of governments and other groups who feel they are “entitled to a get out of jail free card,” citing wars in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and Sudan.
“They can trample international law. They can violate the United Nations Charter,” Guterres told world leaders at the UN General Assembly. “They can invade another country, lay waste to whole societies, or utterly disregard the welfare of their own people. And nothing will happen.”
“The level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable,” he said.
With the nearly year-long war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in besieged Gaza threatening to now engulf Lebanon – where Israel targeted more than a thousand Hezbollah targets on Monday – Guterres made an impassioned plea.
“Lebanon is at the brink,” he said. “The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world – cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022 and the conflict has recently escalated with Kyiv rapidly seizing land in a high-risk Aug. 6 incursion into Russia’s Kursk region and Russia ramping up drone and missile attacks.
“Civilians are paying the price – in rising death tolls and shattered lives and communities,” Guterres said, adding that it was time for a just peace based on the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions.
On Sudan, Guterres called out the “brutal power struggle” between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that erupted into war in mid-April last year ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
“A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding as famine spreads. Yet outside powers continue to interfere with no unified approach to finding peace,” he said.
Guterres’ speech summed up the state of the world as unsustainable, but said the challenges faced could be solved.
“Geo-political divisions keep deepening. The planet keeps heating. Wars rage with no clue how they will end. And nuclear posturing and new weapons cast a dark shadow,” he said. “We are edging towards the unimaginable – a powder keg that risks engulfing the world.”
