ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said COVID‑19 has laid bare the world’s fragilities.  It has preyed on the most vulnerable and wiped away decades of progress.  For the first time in 30 years, poverty is rising, nuclear non‑proliferation efforts are slipping away and countries are failing to act in areas of emerging danger, particularly cyberspace.  “Our world is struggling, stressed and seeking real leadership,” he said, emphasizing:  “We are at a foundational moment.”

Recalling that those who built the United Nations 75 years ago had lived through a pandemic, a global depression, genocide and world war, he said “they knew the cost of discord and the value of unity” and fashioned a visionary response.  “Today, we face our own 1945 moment,” he noted, describing COVID‑19 as a crisis “unlike any we have ever seen.”  It is also one that will appear in different forms again and again, he said, adding that COVID‑19 is not only a wake‑up call, it is a dress rehearsal for challenges to come.  “We must move forward with humility — recognizing that a microscopic virus has brought the world to its knees.”

He went on to point out that too little assistance has been extended to countries with the fewest capacities to face the challenge.  Stressing that leaders must be guided by science and tethered to reality, he declared:  “Populism and nationalism have failed.”  He continued:  “Those approaches to contain the virus have often made things manifestly worse.”  There has also been a disconnect between leadership and power, with remarkable examples of leadership that are not associated with power.  Noting the interconnected nature of the world, he called for recognition of a simple truth:  solidarity is self‑interest.  “If we fail to grasp that fact, everyone loses.”

Calling for a new push, led by the Security Council, to forge a global ceasefire by the end of 2020, he pointed to the new peace agreement as one reason for hope.  In Afghanistan, the launch of peace negotiations also marks a milestone after years of effort.  And in several situations, new ceasefires are holding better than in the past, he said, citing the Idlib ceasefire in Syria, the “calm” in Gaza and the deferred decision to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

“We will not give up the search for peace,” he said, insisting that everything must also be done to avoid a new cold war.  “We are moving in a very dangerous direction” and the world cannot afford a future in which the two largest economies split the globe in a great fracture — each with its own trade and financial rules and Internet and artificial intelligence capacities.  A technological and economic divide risks turning into a geostrategic and military one, he said, underlining:   “We must avoid this at all costs.”

For its part, the United Nations has mounted a comprehensive response.  Led by the World Health Organization (WHO), it has supported Governments in saving lives and containing the spread.  The Organization’s global supply chains have provided personal protective equipment and medical supplies to more than 130 countries, he reported, pointing out that it has extended life‑saving assistance through a Global Humanitarian Response Plan and mobilized the full system in development emergency mode.  Meanwhile, the “Verified” campaign is fighting online misinformation — a toxic virus shaking the democratic underpinnings of many countries.

He noted that, while the United Nations is working to advance treatments and therapies as a global public good – and backing efforts for a people’s vaccine available and affordable everywhere – some countries are reportedly making side deals exclusively for their own populations.  “Such ‘vacci‑nationalism’ is not only unfair, it is self‑defeating,” he said.  On the economic front, the United Nations has pushed for a massive rescue package worth at least 10 per cent of the global economy, while developed countries have provided enormous relief to their own societies.  The developing world cannot fall into financial ruin, he stressed, noting that in one week, world leaders will gather to find solutions at a Meeting on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond.

In all such efforts, he said, the United Nations is prioritizing women, who are disproportionately represented in sectors hit hardest by job losses and do most of the unpaid care work generated by the pandemic.  They have fewer economic resources upon which to fall back because their wages are lower and they have less access to benefits.  Calling for stamping out the increase in violence against women and girls – a “hidden war on women” – he said that ending it will require the same commitment and resources devoted to other forms of warfare.

More broadly, he said recovery efforts must lead to a better future, pressing Governments to establish a new social contract with their citizens.  It would offer a new generation of social protections:  universal health coverage and possibly a universal basic income, universal access to education, digital technology, fair tax systems, with human rights at the centre of all aspects.  It would also involve a transition towards renewable energy in order to achieve net‑zero emissions by 2050 through a series of climate‑positive actions.

Correspondingly, he called for a “New Global Deal” to ensure that political and economic systems deliver on critical global public goods.  Calling attention to huge gaps in governance structures and ethical frameworks, he said, “we need to ensure that power, wealth and opportunities are broadly and fairly shared”.  Efforts must be rooted in a fair globalization, with the principles of sustainable development integrated into all decisions, he said, emphasizing that trade must be free and fair.  Historical injustices must be addressed in global power structures, he added.

Indeed, more than seven decades on, multilateral institutions need an upgrade to more equitably represent the world’s peoples, rather than giving disproportionate power to some and limiting the voice of others, he continued.  “We don’t need new bureaucracies,” he assured.  Twenty‑first century multilateralism must be networked — linking global institutions across sectors and geographies, expanding the circle of engagement by drawing on the capacities of civil society, regions and cities, businesses, foundations and academic and scientific institutions.

“We cannot respond to this crisis by going back to what was or withdrawing into national shells,” he stressed.  To overcome today’s fragilities, there must be more international cooperation, not less; stronger multilateral institutions and better global governance, not a chaotic free‑for‑all.  The pandemic has upended the world, but the upheaval has created space for something new, he said.  With ideas once considered impossible suddenly on the table, large‑scale action no longer seems so daunting.  He welcomed the opportunity for profound reflection, expressing his intention to report to the General Assembly in 2021 with recommendations for reaching shared aims.  “The pandemic has taught us our choices matter,” he said.  “As we look to the future, let us make sure we choose wisely.”