The coronavirus pandemic has become a turning point for the mankind, comparable to year 1945, when the World War II ended and the UN was established, the Organization’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres said during the general political debates of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly. In his speech, Guterres called the pandemic "the fifth rider of the apocalypse."
"We face a foundational moment," the Secretary General said. "This pandemic is a crisis unlike any we have ever seen."
Guterres reminded that "those who built the United Nations 75 years ago had lived through a pandemic, a global depression, genocide and world war."
"They knew the cost of discord and the value of unity," he noted. "They fashioned a visionary response, embodied in our founding Charter, with people at the centre."
"Today, we face our own 1945 moment," he added.
According to the official, the consequences of the pandemic will manifest "in different forms again and again."
"COVID-19 is not only a wake-up call, it is a dress rehearsal for the world of challenges to come," Guterres believes. "We must move forward with humility —recognizing that a microscopic virus has brought the world to its knees."
The rider of the Apocalypse
The Secretary General reminded that, in January, he outlined the "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" - the challenges that threaten the future of the mankind.
The first threat, he said at the time, is the highest level of geopolitical tensions in recent years. The second one is climate change. The third "rider" is a "growing global mistrust," Guterres said, naming the "dark side of technology" as the fourth.
"But a fifth horseman was lurking in the shadows," Guterres said Tuesday. "Since January, the COVID-19 pandemic has galloped across the globe - joining the four other horsemen and adding to the fury of each."
"We face simultaneously an epochal health crisis, the biggest economic calamity and job losses since the Great Depression, and dangerous new threats to human right," he underscored.
The Secretary General called to "vanquish the five horsemen and build the world we need: peaceful, inclusive and sustainable."
"The pandemic has taught us our choices matter," Guterres added.
A chance for a better world
According to the UN head, rebuilding after the pandemic provides a chance to rethink the existing structure of the economy and the society.
"We have the blueprints: the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement," Guterres listed.
He also spoke in favor of signing what he called "a New Global Deal," which is supposed to ensure a fairer distribution of power, wealth, and opportunities on the international level. According to Guterres, such deal would make it possible to "to truly reduce fragilities and risks, and to more effectively solve shared problems."
"We have huge gaps in governance structures and ethical frameworks," Guterres claimed. "A New Global Deal must be rooted in a fair globalization, based on the rights and dignity of every human being, on living in balance with nature, and on our responsibilities to future generations.(TASS)
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