UNITED NATIONS, Dec 2 (InnerCityPress.com) -- Here's what Antonio Guterres said in Washington today:
SECRETARY-GENERAL-DESIGNATE GUTERRES: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. My visit also is to express my total commitment to work closely with the United States, with the present administration, also with the next administration.
We live in a dangerous world. We are all aware of that. We have seen a multiplication of conflicts. Old conflicts seem never to die. And it’s true the international community has lost a lot of its capacity to prevent and to solve conflicts. On the other hand, the globalization that has been an extremely important driver of economic growth, the reduction of poverty in many parts of the world has also left people behind. And this has been the cause of unrest and instability in many parts of the world.
And the human rights agenda that is so dear to us all, we also see many difficulties in relation to it, when national sovereignty sometimes tends to make it difficult for human rights to be effective and to be promoted.
Now, in all these areas, I believe that the leadership of the United States is absolutely crucial. And in all these areas, I believe that we need a U.N. that is more effective, more cost-effective, more able to serve the people with a very strong reform-minded approach. And the U.S. has always been a driver for reforming the U.N., and I’m deeply committed to pursue that objective to make sure that the U.N. can be a positive partner in the efforts that the U.S. is leading.