By Black Star News
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says the world is facing a “moral crisis” because of rising inequality, a lack of concern for the suffering of people, and growing authoritarianism.
In a Friday speech, given at the Global Assembly of the international rights charity Amnesty International, Guterres said, “more important than ever” the world’s people must fight for human rights. Gutteres talked about experiencing and living under a dictatorship in his native Portugal.
The Secretary-General pleaded with countries to fight for human rights and international law “consistently and universally, even – or especially – when inconvenient.”
In speaking on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Gutteres expressed his condemnation for the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, while stating that “nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction since.” He also said, “The scale and scope is beyond anything we have seen in recent times” while saying, “I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community. The lack of compassion. The lack of truth. The lack of humanity.”
On the issue of rising global authoritarianism he said, “We are witnessing a surge in repressive tactics aiming at corroding respect for human rights. And these are contaminating some democracies.” Guterres also denounced the crushing of political opposition parties, the removal of democratic accountability mechanisms, xenophobic attacks on minorities, and the attacks on activists and journalists.
Guterres also addressed the pressing topic of climate change describing it as a “human rights catastrophe,” that harms the world’s poorest. He called for a transition to clean energy without sacrificing human rights saying, “We cannot accept a clean energy future built on dirty practices…We cannot accept enormous violations of human rights – many of them against children – in the name of climate progress.”
Secretary-General Guterres ended by praising Amnesty International for its years of activism calling their work “indispensable.” Guterres told the audience, “When you stand for human rights, you stand with what is right. Your courage continues to change lives. Your persistence is shifting the course of history. Let’s keep going. Let’s meet this moment with the urgency it demands. And let’s never, ever give up.”
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