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Multilateralism indispensable in tackling global crises, stresses Migiro

Multilateralism indispensable in tackling global crises, stresses Migiro

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro
The significant hurdles the world faces today can only be addressed through global solutions, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.

“An effective multilateral system that delivers results has never been more important” in tackling the simultaneous food, energy, financial and climate change crises, she told a high-level meeting on the United Nations and the European Union (EU) in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

More than 50 million people have been pushed into poverty, 50 million are losing their livelihoods and 40 million are going hungry, the official said at the gathering.

“The numbers are startling enough, but there are other effects that are not easy to quantify,” such as human frustration, she pointed out.

Ms. Migiro commended the EU’s support of the three main pillars of the UN’s work: peace, human rights and development. The EU’s financial assistance is also invaluable to the world body, she added.

But its most valuable contribution to the UN lies in its political will, since EU nations “share the UN’s universal values,” she said.

The EU is one of the Organization’s most significant partners in peacekeeping, the Deputy Secretary-General said, and “these interventions help development, which is critical to cooling tensions before they flare and achieving lasting recovery after the guns fall silent.”

Thus, the EU-UN relationship serves as a model, and “all countries must join forces to respond to the challenges of our time,” she underscored.

“To succeed, we must build an effective multilateralism.”