UN not competing with Board of Peace, Secretary-General says

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has rejected the idea that the Board of Peace, established at the initiative of US President Donald Trump, could compete with the UN Security Council.

According to him, the UN should not be worried about its future, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Financial Times.

He argued that amid the current challenging global environment, the world risks sliding into confrontation if international institutions fail to adapt.

“If we do not organise multipolarity the risk is that multipolarity will translate itself into more competition and, eventually, more confrontation. Let's not forget that Europe, before the first world war, was multipolar. But in the absence of multilateral institutions of governance, the result was the first world war. And so this is the moment in which multipolarity is inevitable, in which the weight of superpowers inevitably will decrease globally. And what is important is to make sure that this trend moves us in a way in which power is better distributed,” he added.

On January 22, representatives of 19 countries signed the charter of the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The body was established as part of efforts to resolve the situation in the Gaza Strip. Washington said other countries had also joined the organisation.

The Board of Peace was established under an agreement between Israel and Hamas to govern Gaza, but it is also expected to work on preventing and resolving conflicts in other regions.

The transition to the second phase of the Gaza settlement, including the transfer of power in the enclave to a specially established technocratic committee, is currently complicated by the issue of disarming Hamas formations.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov