António Guterres on the Situation in Ukraine – “It is time to end this absurd war”

23-03-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, discussed with journalists the ongoing situation in Ukraine on the 22nd of March 2022. Mr. Guterres started by stating that this war was “unwinnable” and that there was “enough on the table” for an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to start negotiations. According to António Guterres:

“The only question is: 

How many more lives must be lost?

How many more bombs must fall?

How many Mariupols must be destroyed? 

How many Ukrainians and Russians will be killed before everyone realizes that this war has no winners — only losers?

How many more people will have to die in Ukraine, and how many people around the world will have to face hunger for this to stop?”

The Secretary-General reiterated that the Russian Federation’s attack on the sovereign territory of Ukraine was in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and that since then, “we have seen appalling human suffering and destruction in cities, towns and villages”. Mr. Guterres even added that “the only outcome to all this is more suffering, more destruction, and more horror as far as the eye can see”. The number of refugees that have fled Ukraine because of the war has reached 3.5 million with citizens being unlawfully attacked with women and children being extremely vulnerable to the situation. It is for the “appalling human suffering” that António Guterres has stated that “it is time to end this absurd war”.

Nevertheless, the Secretary-General remains hopeful due to the recent diplomatic progress made between the Russian Federation and Ukraine as well as the diplomatic involvement of other States. According to Mr. Guterres, the war “will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table” as it is “time to stop the fighting now and give peace a chance”. 

Sources and further reading:

Al-Jazeera. (2022, March 22). UN Chief Calls for an End to Russia’s ‘absurd war’ in Ukraine. Al-Jazeera. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/22/un-chief-says-time-to-end-russias-absurd-war-in-ukraine

Secretary General Antonio Guterres. (2022, March 22). Secretary-General's Remarks to Press on the War in Ukraine. United Nations. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.un.org/sg/en/node/262541

United Nations. (2022, March 22). Time to Negotiate End to ‘Unwinnable’ War in Ukraine, Guterres Declares. UN News. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114392