This is a vital time, as we look at the unfolding crises in the region, especially in Sudan — a situation that is deeply concerning as it grows worse by the day.
Khartoum is in turmoil; Darfur is burning once again; and the UN Refugee Agency has already affirmed that more than 100,000 people have fled and 800,000 people might flee the country in the coming days and weeks.
The fighting needs to stop — and to stop now — before more people die and this conflict explodes into an all-out war that could affect the region for years to come.
All parties must put the interests of the Sudanese people first and that means peace, a return to civilian rule, allowing for the development of the country.
The Sudanese are facing a humanitarian catastrophe.
Hospitals destroyed. Humanitarian warehouses looted. Millions facing food insecurity.
Aid must be allowed into Sudan, and we need secure and immediate access to be able to distribute it to people who need it most.
Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected. And humanitarian workers and their assets must be respected.
I call on the international community to support the Sudanese people in their pursuit for peace and a return to democratic transition.
Africa is a place of enormous natural, human cultural and entrepreneurial richness.
The African Union is a close and valued partner of the United Nations — from peacebuilding and peacekeeping, to our joint efforts to deliver Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda.
The recent ceasefire in Libya, the peace agreement in the Central African Republic are a cause for optimism.
And I salute Kenya’s leadership role in the peace processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.
Last month, I visited Somalia where I saw important progress in the fight against terrorism — bolstered by the African Union Transition Mission there.
Step by step, we are seeing African leadership working to solve African problems.
The 21st century should be Africa’s century. But a series of historic and economic injustices stand in the way.
The Covid-19 pandemic slowed and even reversed strong economic growth across the continent.
The global cost-of-living crisis, made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has sent food and energy prices soaring.
Climate chaos — that Africans did very little to cause — is creating floods, hunger and deadly droughts.
And the dysfunctional and unjust global financial system denies many African countries the debt relief and the concessional funding they need.
Africa is doubly victimized.
First, by the scars of colonialism that linger to this day.
And second, by the injustice of the post-World War Two era, when global institutions — from United Nations to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — were created. And at the time, the decolonization of Africa had yet to get underway and so, African countries were practically not present and, to this day, remain clearly under-represented.
The same applies to correct one of the biggest injustices in the international peace and security architecture — the absence of any permanent seat on the Security Council for the African continent.
This must be remedied.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund allocated $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights — or SDRs — to boost liquidity during crises. The countries of the European Union received a total of $160 billion in SDRs, while African countries — with three times the population — received just $34 billion.
This is an absurdity.
We need deep reforms to the global financial system so that Africa is represented at the highest level, and the needs of developing countries are at the heart of all policies and decisions.
And I’ve called for an SDG Stimulus package of at least $500 billion per year to scale-up affordable, long-term financing for developing countries.
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Excerpts from the Secretary-General’s opening remarks at the press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, 3 May 2023.