Middle East: Fighting is triggering a chain reaction - UN Chief's Stakeout | United Nations

Secretary-General António Guterres said the way out of the war in the middle east is diplomacy, full respect of international law and peace.

Guterres spoke to reporters in New York, warning more than three weeks in, the war in the Middle East is “out of control.”

He reiterated, “it is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder, and return to full respect of international law.”

The UN chief noted that he has remained in close contact with many from the region and around the world. A number of initiatives for dialogue and peace are underway. “They must succeed,” Guterres emphasized.

The Secretary-General announced the appointment of Jean Arnault as his Personal Envoy to lead the UN efforts on the conflict and its consequences.

Guterres said, “my message to the United States and Israel is that it is high time to end the war – as human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating.”

“My message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbors that are not parties to the conflict,” he continued, adding that the Security Council has condemned these attacks and demanded that they end. “And it has reaffirmed that respect for navigational rights and freedoms around critical maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz must be respected,” Guterres added.

He highlighted that the prolonged closure of the Strait is “choking the movement of oil, gas, and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season.”

Across the region, and far beyond, civilians are enduring serious harm and living under profound insecurity, the Secrtary- General stressed.

He noted that he witnessed some of these consequences firsthand during his recent visit to Lebanon.

“There, too, the war must stop. Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest. The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,” Guterres said.

The Secretary-General also said, “around the globe, markets are in turmoil. Humanitarian operations are constrained. And on every front, the shock waves are falling hardest on those who bear no responsibility for this conflict: the poorest, the most vulnerable, the least able to absorb yet another blow.”

He said the UN system is “deeply engaged in trying to minimize the consequences of the war,” emphasizing that the best way to minimize those consequences is clear: “End the war – immediately. War is not the answer. We need a way out of this disaster. Diplomacy is the way out. Full respect of international law is the way out. Peace is the way out.”

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