He Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, expressed his deep sadness this Sunday over the death of former United States President Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100 at his home in Plains, Georgia.
This icon of the Democratic Party, who presided over the country between 1977 and 1981, has become the longest-serving president in the country’s history. His reputation on the international stage was enhanced by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize and the creation of a major center for diplomacy and conflict resolution, the Carter Center, which advocates for democracy and human rights around the world.
Last year, after suffering an undisclosed illness, he decided to stop medical treatment and receive palliative care at home. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden led the tributes, saying the world has “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian.”
In his statement, Guterres highlighted President Carter’s leadership during his term and his overall contributions to international peace and security, “including the historic Camp David Accords,” the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that remains in force. .
The Secretary General also highlighted the achievements made through the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which led to the 1979 SALT II Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, which limits nuclear proliferation, and the Panama Canal Treaties, which allowed ownership of the key waterway linking the Pacific and the Atlantic returned to Panama in 1999.
After leaving office, President Carter focused his attention on addressing the global challenges of inequality, human rights, inadequate housing, and other social justice issues.
“President Carter’s commitment to international peace and human rights also found full expression after leaving the presidency,” said the top UN official.
“He played a key role in conflict mediation, election monitoring, democracy promotion, and disease prevention and eradication,” Guterres added.
A friend of the UN
“These and other efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and helped advance the work of the United Nations.”
President Carter, along with former South African President Nelson Mandela, founded the group The Elders, to advance the human rights and peace agenda.
Guterres said Jimmy Carter will be remembered “for his solidarity with the vulnerable, his abiding grace and his unwavering faith in the common good and our common humanity.”
He expressed his deepest condolences to the Carter family and all citizens of the United States.
He concluded by saying that the former president’s “legacy as a peacemaker, defender of human rights will endure.”
Carter had four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. In November of last year he lost Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years.
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