Guterres: The Security Council "must leave no stone unturned" to unite to promote peace

Viet Nam female peacekeepers serving in South Sudan line up at the award ceremony

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday that in a world where peace "never comes by itself", the UN Security Council must play a leading role in finding better ways to unite in the face of an impasse.

Guterres speaks at the Security Council's high-level debate on "Leadership for Peace". The debate aims to strengthen support for the principles of the UN Charter and build on the Future Compact adopted on Sunday to call for Security Council reform.

Speaking to world leaders and ministers in the Security Council chamber, Guterres said that in the face of deepening divisions and mistrust among countries, impunity is spreading and repeated violations of international law and the Charter of the United Nations are on the rise.

"Leadership for peace means ensuring that the UN Security Council acts in meaningful ways to reduce global tensions and help resolve conflicts that are causing so much suffering around the world," he said. ”

"A united Security Council can make a big difference to peace," he said. A divided Council can't do that."

It is imperative, he said, that Council members need to "spare no effort to work together to find common ground", given that they are often unable to act because of disagreements among the permanent members with veto power.

A successful example of peacekeeping

He said that while no action has been taken on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, there have been striking examples of effective concerted action, from overseeing 11 UN peacekeeping operations involving some 70,000 people to a landmark resolution providing for African Union-led support operations. These "prove that peacemaking is possible", including in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan.

"Our only hope for progress on peace is active cooperation and solidarity among the members of the Security Council," Guterres continued. Today, I call on all members to live up to this great responsibility and the commitments of the Charter of the United Nations and to contribute to the success of the Council, not to weaken it. ”