United Nations (EFE).- The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a «mea culpa» on Wednesday on behalf of the international community, criticizing it for frequently turning a blind eye to human suffering in Gaza and Sudan.
«On behalf of the international community, there is a ‘mea culpa’ that needs to be expressed, because the international community has been many times indifferent to the suffering of those peoples and this is absolutely intolerable,» Guterres said during his final press conference ahead of the UN General Assembly before stepping down.
When asked whether he felt personally accountable for the tragedies the UN failed to prevent, including those in Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan, the Portuguese diplomat demurred.
However, he declined to accept personal blame, stating that he has been «consistently fighting for the rights of those peoples,» though he acknowledged that an apology was due on behalf of the international community as a whole.
«With the developments in the crisis in the Gulf, there was a tendency to forget what was happening in Gaza or the West Bank,» he acknowledged during the briefing leading up to the high-level General Assembly debate scheduled for Sep. 22–28.
He nevertheless emphasized that lasting peace in the Middle East is impossible without resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, just as peace in the Horn of Africa hinges on ending the conflict in Sudan.
«The UN is not just a platform. It is a promise. So my message to leaders comes down to this: keep your promises. Live up to the UN charter,» he added.
Calls for global oversight to tackle «runaway» AI
The Secretary-General also called on governments to take responsibility and foster a «coordinated global effort» to counter the threat of runaway artificial intelligence (AI).
«We cannot afford to ignore concerns that have been raised, especially by those on the front lines of the development of AI,» Guterres warned, pointing to concerns expressed by prominent industry leaders regarding rapid technological advancements.
Recently, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei advocated for stricter AI regulation to mitigate risks and prevent losing control of increasingly powerful systems, a proposal endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and tech mogul Elon Musk.
While acknowledging the technology’s «enormous potential,» the Secretary-General insisted on robust safeguards to ensure AI remains «safe, transparent, and accountable.»
Guterres stressed that governments must assume responsibility for protecting their citizens, though he warned that national efforts will fall short without a unified worldwide strategy.
«AI does not stop at borders and neither do its risks. Voluntary pauses that are isolated, unverifiable, and unevenly applied will not address the problem,» he remarked.
As a result, AI governance will also be a key topic in his upcoming discussions with international leaders attending the General Assembly debate.
«We need a shared understanding on how to advance the safe, secure, and responsible development of AI while identifying when increasingly powerful systems may require stronger safeguards or additional measures to manage potential risks,» he noted.
The diplomat acknowledged that geopolitical rivalries might tempt nations to compromise on safety in the race for AI dominance, but warned that the world cannot afford a competitive race to the bottom.
Guterres identified «runaway artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and the intolerable deepening of inequalities» as the primary global challenges facing humanity today.
In 2025, the UN established its first dedicated scientific advisory body on AI to ensure policy decisions are grounded in empirical evidence. EFE
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