Antalya Diplomacy Forum Comes at Challenging Time for Collective Security, Says Secretary-General, Citing ‘Senseless’ Conflict in Ukraine

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, today:

Excellencies, distinguished participants, I thank President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey for hosting the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

This year’s Forum comes at an extremely challenging time for our collective security.  The senseless conflict in Ukraine is causing death and devastation to the country and its people, with enormous security risks for the region and the world.  It has forced more than 1.5 million people across borders and disrupted the global economy with unforeseeable consequences.  It has multiplied the danger of miscalculation and escalation.  There is only one way forward:  the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Excellencies, diplomacy is the essence and spirit of the United Nations Charter, a document with one overarching goal:  to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.  The drafters of the Charter had witnessed the unspeakable damage caused by the Second World War.  To prevent it from happening again, they built a collective security system based on the fundamental idea that diplomacy should always come first.

“Recoding diplomacy”, the subject for this year’s Forum, means first looking back in order to understand and build on the foundations that make diplomatic work possible.  Those foundations are clear:  respect for international law, sovereignty, and equality among States.

To recode diplomacy also means looking forward and recognizing that diplomacy is a living process.  It needs updating and revitalizing, so that we can respond to the evolving needs of our time.

In these challenging times, recoding diplomacy means a relentless and tireless search for peaceful solutions, however and wherever they are to be found, even during the darkest days of violence and strife.  That is our shared duty and solemn obligation.

Thank you.