Today, Tuesday, the work of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly kicked off in New York, with the participation of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The work of the 78th session of the General Assembly will continue until the twenty-sixth of this month.
At the beginning of the session, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, spoke about the Libyan city of Derna, which was struck by torrents and floods last week, killing thousands.
The UN official said, “Derna sadly depicts the state of our world: an avalanche of inequality, injustice, and an inability to confront challenges.”
He added that the people of Derna lived and died in a state of indifference to them, while heavy rain fell in 24 hours, hundreds of times greater than the monthly average rainfall, and the dams cracked after years of war and neglect.
Guterres continued: “Thousands in Derna lost their lives in massive, unprecedented floods. They were victims many times: victims of conflict, victims of climate chaos,” and victims of those who failed them in finding a way to peace.
In his speech on the Palestinian issue, the Secretary-General also touched on the violations and aggression of the Zionist occupation forces against Palestinian civilians, and referred to the recent attacks on the Jenin camp, and considered what they left behind “the worst level of destruction in more than 20 years.”
Speaking of a multipolar world, the Secretary-General said: “As geopolitical tensions and international challenges escalate, we appear unable to work together to respond to the challenges. While this is hugely positive because it brings new opportunities for justice and balance in international relations, multipolarity alone “It is not a guarantee of peace.”
In this context, Guterres stressed the multipolar world’s need for effective multilateral institutions, saying: “We will not be able to effectively address problems if the institutions do not reflect the world as it is.”
He stressed the necessity of reforming the Security Council and redesigning the international financial structure, and added that “the alternative to reform is not to keep the situation as it is (…) either reform or rupture.”
In his speech, the UN official also addressed the divisions within countries and said that “democracy is under threat as tyranny, inequality, and hate speech are on the rise.”
In the face of these challenges, he stressed the importance of compromise and said that leaders have a special responsibility to reach compromises to build a common future characterized by peace and prosperity for the common good.