The future depends on a new generation willing to choose dialogue over division and humanity over hate, he said.
Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), during an interview with the UN Media Team in Riyadh-Saudi Arabia
A unique role
The Alliance is a leading United Nations platform for intercultural dialogue. As the forum marks 20 years since its creation, Moratinos reflected on how the world has changed in the last two decades.
When the Alliance was established in 2005 as an initiative of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the international order was unipolar.
Today it is multipolar and the emerging powers of the Arab world, Asia, Africa and Latin America demand to be seen and heard.
The Alliance is uniquely positioned to bring them and everyone else together at the same table, he insisted.
Moratinos recognized, however, that the world has become more complex. He sees this as a challenge that requires a deeper commitment to listening, dialogue and understanding.
AI: opportunities and challenges
Among the most pressing issues Moratinos identified is artificial intelligence, a force he believes will shape the future in profound ways, while also warning of the challenges.
“A machine does not care about religion, faith or ethics, but humans do,“he said. That’s why he insists that AI must remain human-centered, guided by human values and human decision-making.
He warned against the risk of people handing over their freedom and responsibility to machines. If humanity forgets its moral compass, he warned, technology will not correct course. For Moratinos, the Alliance of Civilizations exists precisely to protect values and ethics.
Social networks can allow cyberbullying.
‘Hate is back and it is dangerous’
Turning to one of the Alliance’s important concerns, he spoke about the resurgence of hate speech, especially online.
“Hate is back”said Mr. Moratinos. “Hate makes you feel like you have to eliminate your counterpart.”
He warned that hate begins with words but leads to exclusion, violence and conflict. To combat this, the Alliance is investing in programs that promote counternarratives and foster understanding. And he said young people are critical to those efforts.
Today’s young people live “much of their lives” in virtual spaces that, he fears, could distance them from real human connection.
“We have to return realism to the youth” he said, urging a better balance between the online world and real life, where relationships, cultures and communities truly take shape.
Peace must come first
Moratinos said the world has become consumed by security and, in the process, has forgotten about peace.
“Everyone is much more concerned about security than peace.” said. “But there will be no security without peace.”
Saving the planet, he added, is meaningless if humanity continues to destroy itself. He noted the high human cost of the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, and insisted that the world must refocus on what really matters: saving humanity.
“Peace with a capital P,“, he said, must be the defining message of the Riyadh forum and the guiding principle for generations to come.
And he believes that it is young people who can make that vision a reality. Only they, he said, can decide that the 21st century will be the last century marked by war.