Global Dysfunction says UN Secretary General

Revelations 18:23:’For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’

Important Takeaways:

  • U.N. chief says world is ‘gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction’
  • U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said “Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. Challenges are spreading farther,”
  • “We have a duty to act. And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction,” he said.
  • The diagnosis was echoed by some of the more than 100 leaders attending the week-long event

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U.N. chief urges U.S. to remove Iran sanctions as agreed in 2015

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to lift or waive all sanctions on Iran as agreed under a 2015 deal aimed at stopping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council, Guterres also urged the United States to “extend the waivers with regard to the trade in oil with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects.”

The 15-member council discussed on Wednesday the secretary-general’s biannual report on the implementation of a 2015 resolution that enshrines the nuclear deal between Iran, the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the pact in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions, prompting Tehran to start violating some of the nuclear limits in 2019. In his report, Guterres described Iran’s violations as “worrying steps” and appealed to Tehran to return to full compliance.

Guterres’ appeal to Washington and Tehran comes amid talks to revive the deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – under which Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear program in return for a lifting of many foreign sanctions against it.

“The last few rounds of discussions in Vienna have helped to crystallize the choices that need to be made by Iran and by the United States in order achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA,” deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, told the Security Council on Wednesday.

A date for the next round of talks in Vienna has yet to be agreed upon, but Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: “We’re already seeing the profile of a future agreement, there’s a general understanding of how to move forward to the goals set before us.”

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said it was “those who broke their promises” who must make hard decisions, calling for “assurances that all sanctions are removed verifiably and the U.S. will not once again withdraw.”

China’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang called on the United States to respond to Iran’s request for a guarantee that it would not again quit the deal.

The European Union is coordinating the Vienna talks and EU Ambassador to the United Nations, Olof Skoog, warned: “It is clear that time is not on our side and that what might be possible still today may prove impossible in the near future. We have a limited diplomatic window ahead of us that we should not miss.”

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Alistair Bell)

U.N. chief warns Yemen in imminent danger of famine

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that war-torn Yemen “is now in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades.”

Guterres warning comes as the United States threatens to blacklist Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi group as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran. Aid workers have raised fears such a move would prevent life-saving aid reaching the country.

“I urge all those with influence to act urgently on these issues to stave off catastrophe, and I also request that everyone avoids taking any action that could make the already dire situation even worse,” Guterres said in a statement.

A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Houthi group. U.N. officials are trying to revive peace talks to end the war as the country’s suffering is also worsened by an economic and currency collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the absence of immediate action, millions of lives may be lost,” Guterres said.

The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the people in need of help.

A senior Western diplomat said a designation of the Houthis by the United States designated the Houthis “would certainly not contribute to progress on Yemen.”

“It’s likely that they want to do whatever it takes to increase the pressure on Iran,” said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock has said the United Nations has received less than half of what it needed this year – about $1.5 billion – for its humanitarian operations in Yemen. Last year it received $3 billion.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Alistair Bell)

Closing North Korea nuclear test site an important step, U.N. chief says

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives for a news conference in Vienna, Austria, May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) – Irreversibly closing North Korea’s nuclear test site is an important step that could pave the way for progress at talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

North Korea gave details on Saturday on the planned dismantling of the Punggye-ri site where it is believed to have carried out all six of its nuclear tests.

The official Korean Central New Agency said it would take place between May 23 and 25 and involve collapsing all the site’s tunnels with explosions, blocking its entrances, and removing all observation facilities, research buildings and security posts.

“I would like to welcome that and to say that the irreversible closure of the site will be an important confidence-building measure that will contribute to further efforts towards sustainable peace and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” Guterres said in a statement after meeting Austria’s chancellor in Vienna.

“And I look forward to this positive momentum being consolidated at the summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea,” he said in the remarks to reporters after his meeting with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Trump and Kim are due to hold talks in Singapore on June 12, the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

After North Korea’s announcement on Saturday, Trump said on Twitter: “Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!”

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Toby Chopra)