German media: UN Secretary-General Guterres: Only the United Nations can bear the fundamental responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. The next UN Secretary-General will be a woman.

In his final year as UN Secretary-General, Guterres pointed out that only the United Nations can bear the fundamental responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. He called for reform of the Security Council, saying it's time for women to play a role.

UN Secretary-General Guterres warned at his annual New Year press conference on Thursday that global tensions are still escalating, with "reckless actions" causing dangerous consequences. He criticized US unilateralism and called for a "multipolar" world order.

Guterres pointed out that hegemony is not the solution: "Global issues cannot be resolved unilaterally by a single superpower..."

He emphasized the importance of accelerating the multipolar process, "This multipolarity should be networked, inclusive in design, and create balance through partnerships." However, he also pointed out that multipolarity alone does not guarantee stability or peace.

No country can issue orders to solve international issues

Guterres continued, stating that many problems around the world cannot be solved by one country "issuing orders". "In my view, the basic responsibility of maintaining international peace and security falls on the United Nations and the Security Council," said Guterres. "Only the Security Council can make binding decisions for all member states; no other institution or alliance has the authority to require member states to comply with resolutions on peace and security."

Here, although Guterres did not directly name a country, these remarks clearly targeted President Trump's "Peace Commission" launched a week earlier. This commission was initially authorized by the UN Security Council to address the Gaza issue, but Trump arbitrarily expanded its scope and even proposed replacing the United Nations with the "Peace Commission".

Western countries show coldness towards Trump's "Peace Commission"

According to reports, the US sent invitations to over 60 countries to join the "Peace Commission", but only about 20 countries attended the signing ceremony last week in Davos, with Western major countries taking a refusal attitude toward this commission, with France's position being the most explicit. China only stated that it had received an invitation, but has not yet announced its participation.

During British Prime Minister Starmer's visit to China, China stated in the talks that in recent times, unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying have been prevalent in the international community. He called on the UK and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, to strengthen multilateral communication and coordination, "uphold the authority of the United Nations, uphold multilateralism and free trade, and promote the international order toward a more just and reasonable direction."

Will the next UN Secretary-General be a woman?

Guterres has served as UN Secretary-General for 10 years, and his term is due to end this year. In his annual speech, he again called for reform of the most core institution under the UN framework: the Security Council. Currently, the Security Council consists of 15 seats, including 5 permanent members, whose veto power often hinders the adoption of resolutions supported by the majority of UN member states.

Guterres' second term witnessed the Russia-Ukraine war, the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, the Sudan conflict, the Gaza war, the fall of the Assad regime, and the U.S. transnational arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro.

At the beginning of his last year in office, Guterres spoke about his successor, and the UN General Assembly will select the next Secretary-General later this year.

Guterres said, "The time has come for the United Nations to be led by a woman." In the history of the United Nations, no woman has ever held the top leadership position. He said, "Whether it is the United Nations or the leadership positions in the world's most powerful countries, it is time for women to play a role now."

Source: DW

Original: toutiao.com/article/1855786327088138/

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