Addressing parliament elected officials from around the world gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York for an annual hearing, UN chief António Guterres called for their support on legislation and financing of global solutions to global problems, such as climate change, uncoordinated migration and the dangers of some new technologies.
“As a former parliamentarian, I have felt the heavy responsibility of representing people and trying to advance their aspirations,” said UN Secretary-General Guterres, who was elected to the Portuguese Parliament seven times, and served as Prime Minister for the country for over six years.
“Parliaments can be bastions of democracy, and crucial links between the national and the global. Through legislation and spending decisions, parliamentarians can contribute significantly to the Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs)” he told members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the 130-year-old an organisation that works in partnership with the UN to enhance accountability and ensure parliamentarians are involved in global decisions.
The Secretary-General, who was elected to parliament at 26, lamented that “parliaments are still largely a sphere dominated by older men,” noting that “the world needs more women parliamentarians, and more young parliamentarians”.
He went on to highlight the main paradoxes the world faces today, namely the fact that issues are more and more connected but that responses remain fragmented; a growing but slowing economy; the advances enabled by globalisation and technological progress, which are also responsible for increased inequality.
“People, sectors and regions are being left behind – creating a sense of frustration,” he noted. “This in turn has been a factor in reducing trust in governments, in political establishments, and in international organisations.”
“It is our duty in parliaments and in the UN to re-establish trust,” Mr Guterres stated, delivering his remarks alongside UN General Assembly President, Maria Fernanda Espinosa.
Warning against the dangers of multipolarity, which he described as “a factor of equilibrium”, but “not a guarantee of peace and security”, he said the world needs a “networked” and “inclusive multilateralism”.
“I am deeply convinced that there is no other way to deal with global challenges than with global responses, organised in a multilateral way,” he explained, saying this should include close cooperation with and among inter-governmental institutions such as the World Bank, the African Union, the Arab League and others, but also with the business community, civil society, academia, and parliaments.