Activities of Secretary-General in Belgium, 23 March

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, arrived in Brussels, from New York on Thursday morning, 23 March, where he attended a session with the members of the European Council, which included a working lunch.  Before the session, in a joint press encounter with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the Secretary-General said that the visit to Brussels  demonstrated the excellent cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations.

The Secretary-General warned that we have a perfect storm in many developing countries and a combination of factors that lead to a very dramatic situation.  He noted that the Sustainable Development Goals are moving backwards and that there is more hunger, more poverty, less education and fewer health services in so many parts of the world.  He added that it is clear that our international financial system is not fit for purpose to deal with such a huge challenge, and we very much count on the European Union to lead the transformations that are necessary in order to be able to put the 2030 Agenda back on track.

The Secretary-General stressed, following the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that we need dramatic action.

Soon after the closed session with the members of the European Council, a readout was issued, noting that that the meeting offered a timely opportunity to discuss pressing global matters, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its far-reaching consequences, the climate emergency and growing global inequalities.  The readout added that the Secretary-General discussed the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stressing his call for a just peace, in line with the United Nations Charter, international law and the resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 23 February 2023.

The Secretary-General departed Brussels for New York the same afternoon, 23 March.