UN chief highlights development as path to hope at UNSC, thanks China for hosting such debate

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L, Front) addresses a Security Council open debate on promoting sustainable peace through common development at the UN headquarters in New York, on Nov. 20, 2023. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday emphasized the significance of development and expressed gratitude to China for organizing a debate on this vital issue at the Security Council. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday emphasized the significance of development and expressed gratitude to China for organizing a debate on this vital issue at the Security Council.

"Human development lights the way to hope - promoting prevention, security, and peace. This is why advancing peace and advancing sustainable, inclusive development go hand-in-hand," the top UN official told the Security Council open debate on promoting sustainable peace through common development.

"I thank the Government of China for convening this debate on the vital link between development and sustaining peace," said the secretary-general.

Guterres further said that development by itself is not enough to secure peace, adding that no peace is secure without inclusive and sustainable development.

"And no failure is more calamitous than the failure to prevent conflict. Indeed, development gains are often among the first casualties of war," Guterres added.

The UN chief said the closer a country is to conflict, the farther it is from sustainable and inclusive development.

"Nine of the ten countries with the lowest Human Development Indicators have experienced conflicts or violence in the past ten years," he noted.

"Inequalities and lack of opportunities, decent jobs, and freedom can breed frustration and raise the specter of violence and instability," he added.

China has chosen to organize the meeting as a signature event of its November presidency, in keeping with its desire to focus on the root causes of conflict this month, as described by Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, during his Nov. 1 press conference on the monthly program of work.

Representatives attend a UN Security Council open debate on promoting sustainable peace through common development at the UN headquarters in New York, on Nov. 20, 2023. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday emphasized the significance of development and expressed gratitude to China for organizing a debate on this vital issue at the Security Council. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)