Problems of poor countries and the new UN Security Council. What Guterres said in Hiroshima

In Hiroshima, Japan, a three-day summit of the heads of the G7 countries (USA, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, France) has ended. A number of important statements UN Secretary General António Guterres did at a press conference: he spoke about the unfair distribution of funds during the coronavirus pandemic, called for the reform of the UN Security Council and spoke briefly about the situation in Ukraine.

Guterres began his message to the G7 leaders with a thesis about the “rich”: according to him, they cannot ignore the fact that most countries are now in a deep financial crisis. He noted that the “crushing” economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis, the fighting in Ukraine, unsustainable levels of debt, rising interest rates and inflation are having a devastating effect on emerging economies.

The problems facing developing countries have three dimensions: moral, forceful and practical, Guterres pointed out. Speaking about the first dimension, he stated the existence of a “systemic and unfair” bias in favor of rich countries. The thesis about this was revealed by the UN Secretary General on the example of the situation of African countries during the coronavirus pandemic.

In particular, at that time they received only $34 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). About 1.3 billion people live in Africa. At the same time, the member states of the G7, with a population of 772 million people – $280 billion. In total, according to the UN, the IMF allocated $650 billion in special drawing rights during the pandemic.

Access to vaccines against COVID-19 Guterres also called “profoundly unfair.” According to him, the funds were distributed according to the rules, but from a moral point of view, there is something “fundamentally unfair” in these rules.

Rich countries have recovered from the economic impact of the pandemic thanks to monetary and fiscal policy measures.

“Trillions and trillions have been spent. Basically, they printed money and spent it to get out of trouble. But developing countries, many of which are heavily indebted, have failed to do so. If they did, they would see their currencies drop,” Guterres said.

Guterres said that the time has come to reform the UN Security Council and the institutions of the Bretton Woods system (the international system for organizing monetary relations and trade settlements, established in 1944; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development were founded by the Bretton Woods agreement (IBRD)).

The Bretton Woods system and the UN Security Council reflect the balance of power in 1945, and much has changed since then, the organization’s secretary general said.

According to him, the global financial architecture has become “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.” In the face of the fighting in Ukraine, the economic upheavals caused by the pandemic, the system has failed to fulfill the function of a “global safety net”. The UN Security Council and the institutions of the Bretton Woods system should be brought into line with the “realities of today’s world,” Guterres stressed.

The world must be free of nuclear weapons, this goal cannot be abandoned, Guterres said, answering a question from journalists. He expressed dismay at the fact that disarmament, which had “progressed very positively during the last decades” of the 20th century, had come to a complete halt.

“And we are even seeing a new arms race. I consider it absolutely essential to resume disarmament discussions on nuclear weapons, and I consider it absolutely essential that the countries that possess nuclear weapons commit themselves not to be the first to use these weapons, and I would say pledge not to use them under any circumstances. So, I think we need to be ambitious about the ability to one day, hopefully in our lifetime, see this world without nuclear weapons,” he stressed.

At the G7 summit, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended, Guterres was asked about his attitude to the possible transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv.

“Is this an escalation or legitimate self-defense?” asked the UN Secretary General.

Guterres responded evasively, emphasizing that he is the Secretary General of the UN, not the G7. “I consider it important that we achieve a just peace based on international law, the UN Charter and respect for the integrity of the territory,” he said.