UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for a reformed, reinvigorated and strengthened multilateral system to deal with today's global challenges.
"Toward that end, we need a stronger commitment to a rules-based order, with the United Nations at its center, with the different institutions and treaties that bring the (UN) Charter to life," Guterres told an open debate of the Security Council on strengthening multilateralism and the role of the United Nations.
"But it is not enough to have laws and international conventions, vital as they are. We need new forms of cooperation with other international and regional organizations -- a networked multilateralism. And we need closer links with civil society and other stakeholders -- an inclusive multilateralism."
The world is facing many challenges: multiplying conflicts, advancing climate change, deepening inequality and rising tensions over trade, among others, he warned.
But at the same time, trust is on the decline, within and among nations. People are losing faith in political establishments, national and global. Key assumptions have been upended, key endeavors undermined, and key institutions undercut, he said.
"It often seems that the more global the threat, the less able we are to cooperate. This is very dangerous in the face of today's challenges, for which global approaches are essential."
Multilateralism is nothing more than countries coming together, respecting one another, and establishing the forms of cooperation that guarantee peace and prosperity for all in a healthy planet, he explained.
