UN Secretary-General Warns of Global Dangers Ahead of New Year

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, on Sunday, in a message marking the end of 2017, declared a red alert for countries around the world, stating that the world faces dangers such as class differences, nationalism, xenophobia, and even nuclear war. Mr. Guterres emphasized that these dangers will not be resolved unless everyone works to resolve conflicts. In his statement, he wrote: "When I took on this responsibility a year ago, I called for 2017 to be a year of peace. Unfortunately, fundamentally, the world moved in a completely opposite direction." Antonio Guterres continued by saying that in the past year, "conflicts deepened and new dangers emerged. Concerns about nuclear weapons are at their highest since the Cold War." The Secretary-General's reference is to the conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries, North Korea and the United States. North Korea has tested several missiles, causing concern for countries like South Korea and Japan, which are allies of the U.S. Pyongyang also escalated tensions with the U.S. in 2017, even threatening to test new long-range missiles that could reach the United States. North Korea's military actions and missile tests faced UN Security Council sanctions. In his year-end statement, the UN Secretary-General added: "Climate change is moving much faster than we are. Class differences are increasing. We are witnessing glaring contradictions in the field of human rights." He suggested to the global community that "all these conflicts are solvable; hatred can be overcome, and common values can be supported; but the only way is through cooperation with one another." Mr. Guterres urged world leaders to "reduce differences and build bridges over conflicts." He also stated, "Rebuild trust by bringing people together towards common goals." The UN Secretary-General concluded his message by saying: "Cooperation is the right way forward."