“It’s easy to promise and not deliver”: Marcelo speaks of the urgency of respecting the UN Charter

Marcelo Rebelo Sousa said on Tuesday there is an urgent need to uphold the United Nations Charter to guarantee world peace, accelerate the fight against climate change, protect oceans and biodiversity, and reform international financial institutions.

“These urgent tasks are interconnected: without respect for the Charter there can be no peace, no sustainable development, no reform of institutions,” he said.

In his speech during the general debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the President of the Republic warned of promises made year after year. “The time has come to respect international law, in peacebuilding, in international cooperation, in climate change, in reforming the UN, in reforming international institutions. Without this there will be no world peace. .Every day is lost. This is another day of inequality, conflict and war,” the head of state emphasized.

The President of the Republic asserts that the struggle of the Ukrainian people against the invasion of the Russian Federation is inseparable from the demand for compliance with the UN Charter. “This is the struggle of the Ukrainian people, as well as throughout the world, in other regions – in the Sahel, in many parts of Africa, in the Near and Middle East, in Asia,” he added.

Marcelo said he would not give up his support for Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general. “It’s easy for the President of the Republic to come here and promise the same thing and not deliver.”

“I vote that in a year we can say that there is more peace than war. More justice, more equality, more climate action, more United Nations reform than delay. If so, next year, it will be worth it. It’s a pity. If this does not happen, we will continue to hear people making promises and not keeping them,” emphasized Marcelo Rebelo de Souza.