Jamil Chade | 09/10/2023

In the early days of 2023, at a closed meeting at the UN, a senior UN official warned the governments in the room. The very raison d’être of the organization was under threat. The reason: never since the Second World War has the planet experienced so many armed conflicts as it does today. In total, 2 billion human beings live in situations of war, a quarter of humanity.

The warning came from Amina Mohamed, under-secretary-general of the UN, in a statement that left negotiators and diplomats embarrassed.

Today, as we witness the drama of Israeli and Palestinian families, the conclusion is that the mechanisms, channels or power relations that existed to establish dialogue are buried. Organizations created back in 1945 are no longer providing answers, while a new reality of power and new regional hegemonies are shaking the tectonic plates on all continents.

According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, 2022 was already the year with the highest number of deaths in conflicts since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. There were 238,000, of which 100,000 occurred in the war in East Africa, affecting the Tigray region. Second place went to Ukraine, with 83,000.

Conflicts are becoming increasingly internationalized, with 91 countries involved in some way in situations of war or confrontation abroad. In 2008, there were only 58 countries in this situation. In 2022, the cost of violence reached US$ 17.5 trillion, 13% of the planet’s GDP. More than R$10,000 per person in losses.

This is enough to eradicate poverty and hunger, two of humanity’s dreams.

More than 70 years after the creation of the organization whose goal is to maintain peace in the world, the reality is that the collective security system has gone bankrupt.

Since the end of the Cold War, never has so much been spent on arms as today: more than 2.2 trillion dollars. Never have so many humanitarian crises occurred at the same time, with the UN requesting $55 billion to rescue 250 million people. Never since 1945 have so many people been displaced or refugees as now: 110 million.

Haiti, Ukraine, Yemen, Syria and Israel/Palestine, as well as tensions in Kosovo, Azerbaijan and so many other parts of the world show a map of the international community’s inability to reach agreements. It’s no coincidence that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has insisted in his meetings that the world is at a turning point in its history.

In the corridors of the UN, an ambassador challenged me a few days ago with a question:

When was the last time we concluded a peace agreement in the world?

Hours after I published this column, a speech here at the UN on Monday only confirmed everything I had said. Speaking to governments, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, warned that the situation “will get worse” in the face of the collapse of diplomacy. I quote one of the excerpts from his speech:

The world is increasingly divided, fragmented and inward-looking.

Many politicians portray cooperation as capitulation.

They foment culture wars to divide into “us and them”.

They tolerate (if not defend) racism, xenophobia, disinformation, religious hatred and hate speech.

But today’s world – divided as it is – is smaller than ever. The climate emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic shocks show this. And yet the conversations and actions continue to be selfish and short-sighted.

My borders.

My country.

My resources.

And so, instead of telling you about solutions resulting from peace agreements and good governance, respect for human rights, progress in education, health, protection of the planet and other Sustainable Development Goals, I come here year after year and have to talk about an ever-increasing number of refugees and displaced people fleeing violence and wars.

Sudan today.

Ukraine last year.

Or Ethiopia the year before.

Or Syria, Myanmar, the Sahel, South Sudan, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and many others before that.

The global situation is truly dire, and it’s getting worse. People are suffering, and humanitarians are being asked to put more pieces together in more parts of the world and try to hold them together for longer. Often, we are asked to do this alone, in the absence of political solutions.