Antonio Guterres stressed the need for the world to respond to the unprecedented crisis with unity.
The United Nations:
UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic will cause unimaginable devastation, start hunger and famine in historic proportions and result in an $ 8.5 trillion loss in world production – the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression – if nations have not responded with unity and solidarity.
“We must avoid it. The pandemic has demonstrated our fragility. Despite all the technological and scientific advances of the past decades, we are in an unprecedented human crisis, due to a microscopic virus,” said the secretary general of Thursday. the UN at the high-level high-level event on financing for development.
He stressed the need for the world to respond to the unprecedented crisis with unity and solidarity.
“If we do not act now, the COVID-19 pandemic will cause unimaginable havoc and suffering around the world. Hunger and famine of historic proportions. Sixty million more people plunged into extreme poverty. Up to half of the global workforce – 1.6 billion people – without a livelihood, “said Antonio Guterres.
He said the pandemic could result in the loss of $ 8.5 trillion in world production – the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Globally, the coronavirus infected 5,813,997 people and killed 360,397, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Speaking later at a virtual press conference with Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Antonio Guterres said the world is plagued by enormous weaknesses: weak health systems ; uncontrollable climate change; unsustainable levels of inequality.
“We see other signs of this fragility everywhere, ranging from the growing risk of nuclear proliferation to the anarchy of cyberspace. Ignoring these warning signs is senseless arrogance. Existing threats require humility, unity and solidarity, “he said, adding that the world cannot consider reverting to the same priorities and failing systems.
“We must invest in a sustainable and inclusive recovery.” When asked at the press conference why the United States and China did not speak at the high-level event at which more than 50 heads of state and government and organizations Antonio Guterres said: “The United States and China have both participated in our work.
Of course, this was decided due to the very high turnout that it could only be at the level of heads of state and government and the two countries, for agenda reasons, could not do it at this level, but they would be willing to participate at other levels.
The United States and China are currently engaged in a war of words on a range of issues, including trade, the origins of the coronavirus epidemic and Hong Kong.
“But they will be part of the task force. So there is a commitment from the United States and China to participate in this process, which we warmly welcome.”
Antonio Guterres told the high-level segment that the United Nations calls for immediate collective action in six areas that are extremely important to deal with the crisis.
Starting with the global liquidity crisis, he said that was where the health and economic crises met; “a dangerous link which could extend and deepen the two”, calling for the extension of special drawing rights to supplement the public expenditure reserves.
Noting that the economic fallout from the pandemic threatens a wave of failures in developing countries, hampering the effort to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals, the UN chief’s second call was for “solutions debt, to create space for investment in economic recovery and the Sustainable Development Goals. “
Second, he urged private creditors to hold an increasing share of developing country sovereign debt in order to find incentives to encourage more creditors to reduce their debt.
Antonio Guterres then drew attention to external financing, saying that aligning the incentives of the global financial systems with the SDGs would boost confidence “to boost investment in sustainable development”.
Turning to illicit financial flows, such as tax evasion and money laundering, which deprive developing countries of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, he said that “we must plug the leaks” by revising the national systems and international executives.
The UN chief also stressed the paramount need to “recover better” from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trudeau called the pandemic a “brutal reminder” of the interconnection of our world, adding that “to ensure the safety and health of our citizens, we must defeat COVID-19 wherever it is found”.
This requires a global and coordinated plan that will also allow global and national economies to rebound.
Jobs and businesses in all countries depend on “the health and stability of economies elsewhere” – it all depends on the success of the global economy in weathering this storm, said the co-host of the high-level summit.
“COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge for our modern world, but it is also a unique opportunity to build a better future, to create a secure and prosperous world,” he added.
Holness called the pandemic “a wake-up call” for the international community to revive a comprehensive system of global economic governance “which can cope with global disruption while promoting inclusive development”.
He said that a big challenge for the international financial system was to channel public and private credit flows into productive and inclusive development capital flows.
