Accra-Ghana, Feb. 7, GNA – Mr António Guterres, the UN-Secretary-General, has laid out six priority areas of focus for 2023.
They are: Peace, social and economic rights, climate action, respect for diversity, gender equality and civil and political rights.
He said this when he briefed the UN General Assembly in New York, and appealed for urgent action now to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, warning countries also to “act decisively before it is too late”.
He said it was time for all to embrace the transformation grounded in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The UN Secretary-General spoke about the numerous global challenges, including grinding wars, disasters, climate crises, issues of extreme wealth and extreme poverty gaps, and epic geopolitical divisions undermining global solidarity and trust.
He blamed most of those challenges on politicians and decision makers, condemning them for the near-term thinking, which was not only “deeply irresponsible, but also immoral”.
The UN Secretary-General said those leaders were hobbled by what he termed as a preference for the present, with a bias in political and business life for the short-term.
Their focus, he noted, was also always on the next poll, the next tactical political maneuver to cling to power and also the next business cycle or even the next day’s stock price, leaving the future as someone else’s problem.
Mr Guterres said “we know that the costs of inaction far exceed the costs of action, yet the strategic vision and long-term thinking and commitment is missing. ”
“… This is because it makes the problems we face today, in the here and now more intractable, more divisive, and more dangerous,” and called for the need to change the mindset of decision-making to deeply look ahead into the future.
The UN Secretary-General said 2023 marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration, and “the distillation of our shared mission to uphold and uplift our common humanity”, saying the Declaration was a reminder that the “inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.”
He called for hard work towards achieving peace, security, and putting human rights first.
