New York: Warning that the world is failing to uphold international law as wars stretch from Gaza to Ukraine, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged all nations to choose diplomacy over division and recommit to settling disputes peacefully. This is the only sustainable path to global security, he told ministers at a high-level open debate of the Security Council on Tuesday.
According to United Nations, the Secretary-General emphasised that the UN Charter's tools—negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and more—remain a lifeline when tensions escalate, grievances fester, and states lose trust in each other. These premises are inviolable and must be protected under international humanitarian law without exception, Mr. Guterres reiterated.
From Gaza to Ukraine, the Sahel to Sudan, Haiti, and Myanmar, conflict is raging, international law is being trampled, and hunger and displacement are at record levels. He continued, adding that terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crime also remain persistent scourges pushing security further out of reach. "Peace is a choice. And the world expects the Security Council to help countries make this choice," he stated.
Mr. Guterres pointed to the UN Charter's bedrock obligation in Article 2.3 that all members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means, and to Chapter VI, which empowers the Security Council to support negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice.
Action 16 of last year's Pact for the Future urges states to recommit to preventive diplomacy, he said, commending Pakistan—the Council President for July—for tabling a resolution encouraging fuller use of those tools, which was adopted unanimously at the meeting. The Secretary-General emphasized that Security Council members, particularly its permanent members, must overcome divisions. He reminded them that even during the Cold War, Council dialogue underpinned peacekeeping missions and humanitarian access and helped prevent a third world war.
He urged members to keep channels open, build consensus, and make the body more representative of today's geopolitical realities with more inclusive, transparent, and accountable working methods. Mr. Guterres also urged deeper cooperation with regional and subregional organizations. Mediation can work even amid war, he said, noting that Tuesday marked three years since the signing of the Black Sea Initiative and a related memorandum with Russia that enabled grain movements during the conflict in Ukraine.
States must honour their obligations under the Charter and international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, and uphold the principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence, Mr. Guterres said. As the UN marks its 80th anniversary, he called for a renewal of the commitment to the multilateral spirit of peace through diplomacy.
A signature event of the Pakistani presidency, Tuesday's open debate was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. The session aimed to assess the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for pacific dispute settlement, examine best practices, and explore new strategies for tackling protracted conflicts. It also sought to enhance cooperation with regional organizations, boost capacity-building and resource mobilisation, and align future efforts with the conflict-prevention vision outlined in the Pact for the Future.