He stressed the need to invest in peace, something that the Security Council and the General Assembly have affirmed through resolutions on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and in support of the two-State solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
These are examples of how the values of the Charter “have come to life”, however “the very basis on which these resolutions are based is being attacked.”
Yesterday Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland?
Ms. Mohammed said that “a dangerous nostalgia is what threatens international cooperation now, that the rule of law can be interpreted by the whims and caprices of a strong arm.”
He noted that Secretary-General António Guterres recently recalled that the Charter is not a a la cartemenu and all countries have the obligation to respect it.
Today, it is the smaller countries that “hold the line of the Charter” because they understand that “if the rules do not protect the vulnerable, they offer no protection to anyone,” he said.
“You either defend a rules-based order or pay the price for ignoring it. Yesterday the price was Venezuela, tomorrow it could be Greenland”, he warned.
Financing sustainable development
The international community must also work to accelerate sustainable development.
Geopolitical tensions are threatening progress made in reducing poverty, reducing infant and maternal mortality and increasing girls’ access to education, he said.
Besides, “Trade wars are closing markets that have lifted millions of people out of poverty.. And we are witnessing a global rollback of the hard-won rights of women and girls.”
Last year, military spending reached a record level of $2.7 trillion, but funding for basic development needs faces a challenge. Annual deficit of 4.2 trillion dollarsthat must change.
Davos echo chamber
“This week in Davos the rich will get richer: the profits will go to very few. Last year, the wealth of billionaires grew by $2 trillion, while the poorest half of humanity owns only two percent of the world’s wealth,” he added.
Ms Mohammed referred to the United Nations conference on financing for development, held last year in Spain, which “showed us how to create fiscal space for sustainable development, address the debt crisis and reform the international financial architecture that keeps so many out.”
Support UN reform
The Deputy Secretary General stressed the need to “reestablish the UN to preserve multilateralism”.
In this sense, the UN80 Initiative on system-wide reform aims to build a global body “that acts more effectively and with greater impact, amid the reality of fewer resources and greater needs on the ground in countries.”
He called on all countries, including Denmark, to “lead the charge and commit to a reformed UN that fulfills the promise of the Charter and the realities of today.”