UN chief: Healing ‘must be our New Year’s resolution’

As the coronavirus pandemic upended the world in 2020, hardly a week passed without the UN secretary-general sounding the alarm over another, related pandemic: That of an inequitable world where the underdog disproportionately bears the brunt of the sickness and chaos unleashed by COVID-19.

All year long, Antonio Guterres had called for a global cease-fire to allow for efforts to stem the virus — calls that mostly fell on deaf ears. He repeated unceasingly that no one is safe until everyone is.

“The pandemic rages on, creating new waves of sickness and death,” he declared in his New Year’s video message. “Poverty, inequality and hunger are rising. Jobs are disappearing and debts are mounting. Children are struggling. Violence in the home is increasing, and insecurity is everywhere.”

Against this bleak description of the world in 2020, it was by striking a hopeful note that Guterres decided to wrap up this “year of trials, tragedies and tears” — the hope of “working together in unity and solidarity.”

He praised the kindness of people worldwide, the heroic efforts of frontline workers, the scientists who have produced vaccines in record time, and the countries that have made new commitments toward saving the planet from a climate catastrophe.

Once again, Guterres hammered home the message that all ills, from the pandemic to inequality to climate change, are interconnected.

“Both climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are crises that can only be addressed by everyone together, as part of a transition to an inclusive and sustainable future,” he said.

“The central ambition of the United Nations for 2021 is to build a global coalition for carbon neutrality — net zero emissions — by 2050.”

He urged every government, city, business and individual to make peace not just among themselves but also with nature, tackling the climate crisis, stopping the spread of COVID-19, and making 2021 a year of “healing from the impact of a deadly virus, healing broken economies and societies, healing divisions, and starting to heal the planet.”

That “must be our New Year’s resolution,” Guterres concluded, wishing everyone a happy 2021.