Peaceful settlement of disputes: Civilians pay the heaviest toll - UN Chief | United Nations

Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on strengthening the mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes: follow-up to Security Council resolution 2788 (2025).

Guterres told the Security Council that the situation in the Middle East “is getting out of control” and “teetering on the edge of unimaginable,” but stressed that “geopolitical divisions are not a reason for inaction or abdication.”

Addressing a high-level open debate on Strengthening the Mechanisms for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes, the Secretary-General said, “conflicts are increasing in number, complexity, length and scope,” with increased disregard for international law, impunity, and violations are going unanswered.

He said, “each violation unanswered becomes the next violations precedent. Trust is eroding and negotiated settlements are becoming harder to reach and maintain.”

The Middle East region, Guterres said, “is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next,” and “as this dynamic spreads, the political objectives are becoming increasingly obscured by the confrontation itself.”

In Gaza, he continued, “despite the so-called ceasefire, civilians continue to pay a heavy price every day. People are being killed in their homes, in their communities, and while carrying out ordinary acts of daily life as Israel increases its control.”

In the occupied West Bank, the Secretary-General said, “we see creeping annexation with violence, settlement expansion, extensive Israeli military operations and large-scale displacement,” while in Ukraine, the Sahel, Sudan and many other places, “conflict is inflicting enormous suffering, disrupting livelihoods and uprooting populations with dire humanitarian consequences.”

He said Security Council resolution 2788 “reminds us of a fundamental truth. Diplomacy may not have succeeded in preventing these conflicts, but it still holds the power to stop them.”

Resolution 2788, authored by Pakistan, requested the Secretary-General to provide, one year following the adoption of the resolution, concrete recommendations to further strengthen mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

To conclude, Guterres said, “most situations on the Council's agenda are complex. The best path to peace is through compromise and finding common ground. I urge all members of this Council to summon the spirit of compromise that is essential to peace. Keep the channels of dialogue open and spare no effort in the pursuit of peaceful settlement of disputes, a founding principle of this organization.”