António
Guterres´s swearing-in ceremony took place today. He is now ready to take over
from Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2017. And he has clearly spelled out, in today´s
speech, the key priorities he sees for his mandate: first, to augment the UN´s
ability to better contribute to the different stages of crisis management; second,
to reorganise the system´s development machinery to make it more coherent and
have a stronger field presence; third, to reform the UN, with a clear stress on
delivery and improved public communication.
He
is aware of the many difficulties ahead. For that reason, he underlined the
importance he gives to partnering with other institutions and the member
states. It is clear the UN should never work on critical issues alone.
Furthermore,
all the work should be inspired by the principles that are enshrined in the UN
Charter. A values-based approach gives the UN a stronger sense of mission and
enhances its credibility.
One
of those key values concerns the basic rights of everyone. They should be
respected. That´s the foundation of peace and international cooperation.
Some
people would call it respecting the dignity of our fellow humans. I think that
concept could be understood differently by different people. I prefer to say
human rights. They require no interpretation and have no faith-based connotation.
It´s just a question of implementing the existing, universally approved
principles. They are clearly written in the UN Convention.
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