UN Chief: World Needs ‘Wake-Up Call’

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that the world needs to wake up and take urgent action to change the trajectory on conflicts and geopolitical divisions, the climate crisis, and economic inequality.

“We need a course correction,” Guterres said as he laid out his 2023 priorities to the U.N. General Assembly.

“The good news is that we know how to turn things around — on climate, on finance, on conflict resolution, on and on,” he added. “And we know that the cost of inaction far exceeds the costs of action. But the strategic vision — the long-term thinking and commitment — is missing.”

He cited the recent announcement by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to move the so-called Doomsday Clock 10 seconds closer to global catastrophe as a “wake-up call.”

On January 24, the organization’s board, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and the threat of the use of nuclear weapons, said the planet is now “90 seconds to midnight.”

“This is the closest the clock has ever stood to humanity’s darkest hour, and closer than even during the height of the Cold War,” Guterres warned.

The organization of scientists, of which Albert Einstein was a founding member, created the clock in 1947 as an indicator of how close the world is to manmade global catastrophe.

Adding to the growing list of crises and concerns was Monday’s deadly 7.8 earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria. Guterres said the United Nations is mobilizing to support the emergency response.

“Let’s work together in solidarity to help those hit by this disaster, many of whom are already in dire need of humanitarian aid,” he said.

The quake’s epicenter was in parts of Turkey and Syria with large populations of refugees and people affected by more than a decade of civil war in Syria.

Russia’s war

Guterres has been clear in condemning Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the U.N. Charter and international law. He told the General Assembly that it has inflicted “untold suffering” on the Ukrainian people and had “profound” global implications. He voiced pessimism about the prospects for peace.

“The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing,” he warned. “I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open.”

He criticized the “tactical” use of nuclear weapons as an “absurdity.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned he is ready to draw on his country’s entire arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons, to defend Russian territory. On Thursday, he repeated the threat in a speech criticizing Germany for helping to arm Ukraine.

“We are at the highest risk in decades of a nuclear war that could start by accident or design,” Guterres said. “We need to end the threat posed by 13,000 nuclear weapons held in arsenals around the world.”

The U.N. chief said the world needs peace, not just in Ukraine, but also in many corners of the planet. He said conflicts and political crises in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Africa’s Sahel region, Haiti, the Middle East and elsewhere are driving the suffering of two billion people.

“If every country fulfilled its obligations under the [U.N.] Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed,” Guterres said. “When countries break those pledges, they create a world of insecurity for everyone.”

Source: Voice of America

Proposed Sudan-Israel Peace Deal Triggers Protest in Khartoum

Scores of Sudanese protested in the capital Monday against diplomatic relations with Israel, after last week’s surprise visit by the Israeli foreign minister.

Dozens of Sudanese protesters chanted “no normalization” with Israel, as they held banners blaming Sudanese military leader Abdul Fattah al-Burhan for committing a “betrayal.”

Monday’s protest comes days after Sudanese and Israeli officials announced that the two countries are moving toward normalizing ties.

The announcement was made Thursday after an official visit by the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Eli Cohen, who met with Sudanese officials in Khartoum.

Speaking to VOA during Monday’s protest, Mohammed Al Safi said, he rejects any form of normalization with Israel.

Al Safi, who is a member of the self-described “popular campaign” against normalization with Israel, said al-Burhan’s decision doesn’t reflect the will of the Sudanese people.

“We are at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise our voice that Khartoum shall remain the town for ‘No to peace, no to normalization and no to recognition of Israel,” he said.

That policy, known as the ‘Three Nos,’ was established at a 1967 Arab League summit in Khartoum, soon after the 1967 Mideast War when Israel took control of Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Another protester, Tamadur Omer, said she took part in the protest to reject the “illegality” of the decision taken by the Sudanese military leaders.

Speaking to VOA while wearing a Palestinian scarf around her neck, she said her religion doesn’t allow her to live in peace with the Israeli people. That is why the government’s decision doesn’t serve the interest of all Sudanese people.

“As a Muslim, I reject the normalization in principle and value,” she said. “And as a Sudanese people, we will not sell our country to Zionists. Such a decision can only be the mandate of an elected and a legitimate government.”

Another demonstrator, Al Fadil Abu Basher, said protesters will push to maintain the rejection of any ties with Israel.

“This is an unconstitutional and illegal decision and they, the military, do not have the right to take such a decision,” he said. “We are ready to face the illegal step with all the rejection [it] means. All means are open for us.

Abdulrahman Khaleel, the spokesperson of the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry, downplayed the protest, saying people are free to demonstrate.

“It is normal that part of the Sudanese are against this. They have a right to express their opinion,” he said.

In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco all normalized relations with Israel as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Sudan separately announced plans to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in a deal brokered by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In January 2021, Sudan’s government issued a declaration paving the way to normalizing ties with Israel, and later approved a bill abolishing a boycott of the country dating back to 1968.

Source: Voice of America