World Hot News

Guterres underlines support for China-Africa partnership

Details: Category: World Hot News; Published: Thursday, 05 September 2024 10:27; Written by Gentry

UN Photo/Zhao Yun UN Secretary-General António Guterres with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the 2024 Forum on China-African Cooperation in Beijing.

Joint efforts by China and Africa can spark new momentum for development on the continent, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, at a high-level meeting in Beijing.

The UN chief underlined the global body's support for this partnership in remarks to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit.

Leaders from some 50 African countries are expected to attend the Summit, which has been held every three years since 2000.

Debt hampers development

Mr. Guterres noted that they were gathering in China amid rising geopolitical tensions, raging conflicts and growing poverty and hunger.

He pointed to current challenges, including the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, as well as the worsening climate crisis, inequalities and threats to global and African efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Meanwhile, many African countries are mired in debt and struggling to invest in sustainable development, he said.

Reform outdated systems

The UN Secretary-General recalled his proposals to reform “outdated, ineffective and unfair international financial architecture”, and to provide a stimulus plan for developing countries striving to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality.

Solutions include increasing the lending capacity of multilateral development banks and enabling them to massively scale up affordable financing for development.

He stressed that the support of China and Africa for these initiatives is critical.

Progress on shared goals

“In this context, South-South cooperation is essential to build capacities and drive progress on shared development goals – while in no way reducing the responsibilities of the Global North,” he said.

Mr. Guterres described China’s partnership with the African continent as a pillar of South-South cooperation. The process refers to the exchange of technology and skills between countries of the Global South.

“Your joint efforts, based on the United Nations Charter, can create a new momentum for African development,” he said.

He recalled that China is already Africa’s longstanding and largest trading partner.

“And we know that in Africa, as elsewhere, investments are game-changing when they respect national ownership and are financially sustainable, climate-sensitive and consistent with international human rights commitments.”

Partnership for transition

Furthermore, “China’s remarkable record of development - including on eradicating poverty – provides a wealth of experience and expertise”, he continued.

“The China-Africa partnership can drive the renewable energy revolution. It can be a catalyst for key transitions on food systems and digital connectivity,” he said.

“And as home to some of the world’s most dynamic economies, Africa can maximize the potential of China’s support in areas from trade to data management, finance and technology.”

Meeting today’s challenges

Mr. Guterres also used the speech to highlight the need to “correct some historic injustices”.

For example, it was “outrageous” that the continent of Africa has no permanent seat on the UN Security Council, he said.

In this regard, the Summit of the Future at UN Headquarters later this month “will be a pivotal opportunity for renewal and reform – anchored in solidarity and justice”.

The UN chief spoke of the proposed focus on the prevention of and joint approaches to new and emerging threats to global security, building on recent success in authorizing UN-assessed contributions for African Union-led peace operations.

“We are pushing for reforms so that the international financial architecture and institutions correspond to the realities of today’s world and can respond to today’s challenges – particularly those faced by developing countries, namely in Africa. Your full engagement will be critical to finding sustainable solutions,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, the Secretary-General underscored “the full engagement of the United Nations in support of a strong China-Africa partnership, towards our shared goal of peace, sustainable development and human rights on a healthy planet”.

UN China UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, China.

UN China UN Secretary-General António Guterres (left) with President Xi Jinping of China.UN China UN Secretary-General António Guterres with other African leaders at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, China.

Make AI work for everyone, UN chief says

Details: Category: World Hot News; Published: Tuesday, 03 September 2024 20:46; Written by Gentry

UN China Secretary-General António Guterres addresses workshop on artificial intelligence and capacity building, co-hosted by the United Nations and China in Shanghai.

The UN Secretary-General on Tuesday called for global cooperation in sharing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), warning that unequal access could exacerbate global inequalities.

“AI capacities today are concentrated in a handful of powerful companies – and even fewer countries. Meanwhile, too many countries face significant challenges in accessing AI tools,” António Guterres told a forum on artificial intelligence capacity building, in Shanghai, China.

Bridging that gap is all the more important given AI’s potential for sustainable development. With many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets off track, artificial intelligence can help rescue the development agenda.

“To truly harness AI’s potential, we need international cooperation – and solidarity,” Mr. Guterres added.

Risks also uneven

The UN chief also stressed that just as the benefits of AI are unevenly distributed, so too are the risks.

“Without adequate guardrails, AI could further exacerbate inequalities and digital divides and disproportionately affect the most vulnerable,” he warned.

“We must seize this historic opportunity to lay the foundations for inclusive governance of AI – for the benefit of all humanity.”

Unique opportunities

Mr. Guterres noted the upcoming Summit of the Future, where Governments are expected to endorse a new Global Digital Compact, as a crucial forum to achieve just that.

He also highlighted ongoing efforts across the UN system.

For instance, in its final report this month, the UN’s High-level Advisory Body on AI is expected to outline a series of recommendations, including creating an AI Capacity Development Network, establishing a Global AI Fund for SDGs and developing a Global Data Framework for local AI ecosystems.

UN China Secretary-General António Guterres meets with Chen Jining, the Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Committee.

Official visit to China

The Secretary-General is on an official visit to China, where he will take part in the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in Beijing on Thursday morning (local time).

He will also meet with senior Government officials, as well as with the UN offices and agencies in country.

Over the weekend, Mr. Guterres was in Singapore where he met with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and other senior officials.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed visited Port Sudan and delivered an important speech.

Details: Category: World Hot News; Published: Friday, 30 August 2024 11:54; Written by Gentry

The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed was in Port Sudan today (29 Aug). She was accompanied by Ramtane Lamamra, the Personal Envoy for Sudan, as well as the Resident Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, and senior officials from the World Food Programme, UNHCR, and UNICEF. They met with displaced persons, they also met with the UN team, and with a number of government officials of Sudan. This is aimed at highlighting the humanitarian crisis ongoing in the country.

Speaking to reporters, the Deputy Secretary-General said, “The visit has been at the opportunity of the Government opening up the border in Adre. The humanitarian task that we have in Sudan has been very big. It has been one that we have been consistently supporting the Government to try to address the crisis in the country.”

She added, “The many atrocities that we have seen [inaudible] upon men, women, children, especially, and for that, we wanted to come to speak and to support the Government in keeping that border open and aid to the people that need it most across the country. But in this particular case, this new opening gave us another opportunity.”

The Deputy Secretary-General also said, “The second, of course, is to bring the international community again to see the visibility of the crisis here in Sudan.”

“It is a huge one. There are many people suffering. It requires enormous support for commitments that have been made to the humanitarian cause, but have to be fulfilled, and they have to be done urgently,” she highlighted.

The UN deputy chief continued, “We have impending crisis around famine. We are not getting medical supplies in where there are health crises. But more importantly, we have to remember the suffering of the people, and we are here to do this with the Government of Sudan.”

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Details: Category: World Hot News; Published: Saturday, 31 August 2024 14:55; Written by Gentry

Guterres highlights Timor-Leste’s ‘growing international influence’

Details: Category: World Hot News; Published: Thursday, 29 August 2024 12:57; Written by Gentry

UN Photo/Kiara Worth UN Secretary-General António Guterres (left) and Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, answer questions from the media in Dili.

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The UN Secretary-General continued his historic visit to Timor-Leste on Thursday, emphasising the positive role the country can play on the regional stage to help resolve the crisis in war-wracked Myanmar.

António Guterres is there to take part in celebrations to mark 25 years on Friday since the country’s vote for independence, which was organised by the UN mission in what was then East Timor.

Independence duly came in 2002 following months of violence and destruction that ended years of rule by first Portugal and then Indonesia, which annexed the country in 1975.

Tribute to Timorese leader

On the second day of his official visit to Timor-Leste, the UN Secretary General held a meeting with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, paying an “emotional tribute” to the former resistance leader for the “sacrifices he made to achieve the independence of his country and his people”.

Mr. Gusmão – who served as the first president of the newly-independent nation, was imprisoned for six years in Indonesia and only released when the occupation ended in 1999.

Voice for the future

Speaking to journalists at the Government Palace in Dili, the UN chief highlighted Timor-Leste's record in strengthening democracy and human rights, as well as its “growing international influence”.

Mr. Guterres recalled that the Asian nation is the founder of the G7+, a group of States emerging from conflict, and will soon join the ASEAN regional bloc. The Secretary-General said he was counting on Timor-Leste to take a leading role in supporting a future peace process in Myanmar, which has spiralled into chaos since the military coup of 2021 ousted the democratically-elected government.

He told the veteran Timorese leader that he was counting on the country's voice at the Summit of the Future in September, to build “a world in which the United Nations Charter is respected”.

UN Photo/Kiara Worth A billboard welcomes UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Timor-Leste.

Leading Portugal

The Secretary-General also visited the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum in the capital Dili, where he was shown around the permanent exhibition “resisting is winning”.

As a former Prime Minster of Portugal from 1995 until the year of Timor-Leste’s independence, Mr. Guterres saw himself featured in some of the archive on display.

He was able to confirm the historical accuracy of one exhibit which stated that Portugal threatened to withdraw its forces from Bosnia and Kosovo - and leave the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO.

The appeal was made at a time when several leaders were calling for immediate intervention by peacekeeping forces to protect the people of Timor-Leste from the violence that erupted after the referendum.

The UN chief also visited a replica of a hideout used by Timorese resistance fighters.

Meeting women of the resistance

Afterwards, Mr. Guterres visited the “Women of Timor-Leste” exhibition, organized by gender equality agency, UN Women, which portrays the life stories of resistance veterans and rights defenders.

He was received and accompanied by Hilda da Conceição, who during the years of resistance had the code name Lalo Imin, a combination of her grandmother's name and an acronym that means “independence or death, integration never”.

Another veteran represented in the exhibition was Maria Domingas “Mikato”, who organized the first Timor-Leste Women's Congress, held before the 1999 referendum. She is credited with being the driving force behind the decision in that vote to allocate some 30 per cent of political representation to women.

According to UN Women, Timor-Leste's electoral law established that 33 per cent of political party lists must be made up of women. Currently, 38 per cent of seats in the National Parliament are occupied by women - the highest rate in the Asia-Pacific region.

Reflections on Gaza and Ukraine

The UN chief rounded of his day firmly in the present, with an appearance on “The President Horta Show”, broadcast on national television. The recording was also attended by Prime Minister Gusmão.

Mr. Guterres highlighted the role he played leading Portugal in support of independence in East Timor.

According to him, the factors that made the referendum and peaceful transition to independence possible were the “collective affirmation of the people with total determination, which could not fail to triumph”, together with the fact that there were no fundamental geopolitical divisions between power blocs at that time, as exist today.

Furthermore, the UN leader expressed his continuing concern over Russia’s on-going full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which represents a violation of the UN Charter and international law by a permanent member of the Security Council.

The Secretary-General also addressed the war in Gaza, as an example of the Security Council's limitations amid internal division.

To applause from the audience, the UN chief said that as with Timor-Leste, the Palestinian people also have the right to self-determination and their own secure nation, in line with the UN-backed two-State solution.

Power of reconciliation

The Prime Minister highlighted that during his imprisonment in Indonesia he had seen the suffering first hand and come to the conclusion that the problem was not with Indonesians themselves, but with the political regime in charge.

President José Ramos Horta - who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 - emphasized how he had used the lessons learned from Timor-Leste's process of reconciliation in offering perspective on other post-conflict situations, such as Colombia’s on-going peace and reconciliation process.

He recalled that during the many years of armed struggle in Timor-Leste, there were never kidnappings or attacks against Indonesian civilians.

Prime Minister Gusmão stated that often in the context of the conflict, the guerrillas commanded by him provided medical care to injured Indonesian soldiers, something he himself claimed to have done twice.