The UN warns of the “new era of geostrategic competition” that the world has entered

Guterres proposes a New Agenda for Peace to identify the causes of conflicts and prevent them

June 23 () –

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has warned about the “new era of geostrategic competition” that the world has entered, which will lead to a “bipolar” division.

“The Security Council is not only no longer representative of the world, but is often paralyzed. As in the case of the war in Ukraine. And even the various groups and platforms outside the multilateral system, such as the G20, are caught in these divisions,” Guterres said during a speech at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris.

Guterres has assured that the current cooperation tools are “inadequate”, and has given the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example.

“The world cannot go on like this. It is time to rethink our approach to peace and security. Therefore, I propose a New Agenda for Peace that considers peace as a whole, to identify the root causes of conflict and avoid that the seeds of war germinate”, he added.

This new agenda will address “all types of threats” through a “holistic vision” that will take into account prevention, mediation, reconciliation and peacekeeping until its consolidation, and must have a greater participation of women and youths.

“We need a new generation of peace enforcement and counter-terrorism operations, led by regional organizations, in particular the African Union, but with a strong mandate from the UN Security Council (…)”, Guterres has asked.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES

He has also called for a global ban on cyberattacks against civilian infrastructure and lethal autonomous weapons, as well as the creation of a global pact around new technologies, particularly around Artificial Intelligence.

“The social media business model promotes and monetizes anger and hate. Some tech companies exploit our personal information and manipulate our behavior, with little regard for our privacy. Meanwhile, some governments use spyware and mass surveillance to control their people, trampling on their fundamental rights,” said the UN secretary.