UN Chief Calls for Ceasefire Across All Fronts, Cites Global Economic Fallout
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated on Friday that six months of intensified military operations in the Persian Gulf region have rendered the area and the world incapable of enduring further conflict. Speaking to reporters after returning from visits to Syria and Cyprus, Guterres cautioned against the repercussions of expanding confrontations, emphasizing the urgent need to halt all wars in the Middle East and establish diplomatic solutions.
Guterres elaborated that what began as a regional dispute has increasingly become a catalyst for global instability, leading to the collapse of trade through the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that energy markets are experiencing significant fluctuations, while the prices of food and fertilizers have surged, and supply chains are disintegrating.
The UN Secretary-General highlighted that families worldwide are struggling to secure food, farmers are unable to procure essential inputs, and vulnerable nations are being pushed to the brink. The World Food Programme has warned that approximately 45 million people could face acute food insecurity as a direct result. Furthermore, rising prices and decelerating economic growth increase the risk of millions more people falling back into poverty.
Guterres welcomed a recent agreement among Palestinian factions concerning Gaza, describing the US President’s announcement of a deal wherein Hamas would lay down arms and Israel would withdraw its forces from Gaza as the only positive news in recent days. He reiterated his call for a halt to all fighting across the Middle East, stressing the necessity of fully restoring international rights and freedoms for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters, as well as in the Bab al-Mandab, and for diplomacy to prevail.
Concurrently, Guterres issued a warning regarding the El Niño phenomenon, noting that even as the world grapples with war and instability, another crisis is rapidly intensifying without regard for borders, devastating lives and livelihoods globally. He stressed that El Niño does not merely increase temperatures but profoundly impacts rainfall patterns worldwide. The Secretary-General pointed to the severe summer experienced recently, with devastating wildfires in Spain, France, and far beyond, and thousands of lives lost amid scorching heat.
