Antonio Guterres...with the humanitarian "keffiyeh".

By Ayman Jazini

Antonio Guterres did it. But no one else did it. We waited for what he said from many capitals, some in the East and some in the West, and some were the last and the first, between us.

We have waited since the seventh of last October to hear a voice proclaiming the truth, but nothing reached our ears, or the ears of this deaf world, except his voice. Only António Guterres, in this big forest called the world, did it.

From the edifice of the United Nations, whose Secretary-General he holds, and at the Security Council meeting, Guterres said with a full mouth that what Hamas did in Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” “did not come out of nowhere.”

Beyond that, he expressed concern about the “clear” violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, stressing that “no party to the armed conflict is above this law.” He added that what Hamas did "does not justify the mass killing taking place in Gaza," and "the Palestinian people have been subjected to a stifling occupation for 56 years."

A history of positions

Guterres's statements did not go unnoticed by the Israelis, as Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded sharply to him, reminding him of the killing of Israeli civilians in the attacks launched by Hamas on Israel.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, also called on him to resign, and wrote on his page on the X website a post in which he declared that he was not fit to lead the United Nations because he "showed an understanding of terrorism and murder."

Guterres' positions on what is happening in Gaza are neither his first nor his only ones. He had previously taken many positions in support of justice when he was Prime Minister of Portugal, and he actively participated in international efforts to resolve the East Timor crisis.

Guterres' positions on what is happening in Gaza are neither his first nor his only ones. He had previously taken many positions in support of justice when he was Prime Minister of Portugal

During the period in which he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015, he contributed to improving the organization’s performance and increasing the number of its affiliates and workers in areas of conflict and tension. The conflicts in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Yemen led to a significant increase in activities. UNHCR, the number of displaced people and refugees due to wars and conflicts rose from 38 million in 2005 to 110 million displaced people and refugees in May 2023.

Guterres also settled negotiations on the transfer of sovereignty over Macau, a Portuguese colony, to Chinese control in 1999, after 12 years.

The most prominent of Guterres' stances, away from politics, is his stance on homosexuality, as he repeatedly stated that he "does not like homosexuality," saying that it "disturbs him."

Semi-biography

He is António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres. He was born on April 30, 1949. A Portuguese politician who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 until 2002. After that, he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 until December 2015. He served for a period as President of the Socialist International, and is currently the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Since January 1, 2017.

Guterres studied physics and electrical engineering at the Higher Institute of Technology of the University of Lisbon. He took up teaching there with the rank of assistant professor after his graduation. Three years later, he moved into politics, joining the ranks of the Portuguese Socialist Party in 1974.

Guterres as Prime Minister and Secretary-General

During his presidency of his country's Council of Ministers, Guterres tightened his grip on his country's budget, reducing its deficit, reducing the inflation rate, raising labor market participation rates, especially among women, improving tax collection, and expanding investment in the educational sector.

The most prominent position of Guterres, away from politics, is his position on homosexuality, as he repeatedly stated that he “does not like homosexuality,” saying that it “disturbs” him.

This was in his country the day he came to power there. Today, during his tenure as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Guterres seeks to return this comprehensive and reference international institution to exercising its assigned role: maintaining international peace and security.

Guterres' positions and statements give hope that the United Nations will return to the foundations on which it was founded in 1945, soon after the end of World War II. The Charter of the United Nations defines the purpose of its establishment as maintaining international peace and security by taking effective collective measures to prevent and eliminate threats to peace, developing friendly relations between states based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. Without discrimination based on race, gender, language or religion, in addition to being a center for coordinating the actions of states in achieving these common goals.

But unfortunately, the events that followed World War II, especially the Cold War, the conflict between the global poles, and then the United States of America’s sole leadership of the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union, marginalized the role assigned to it and what was expected of all the peoples of the world, especially the weak and oppressed Third World ones.

What Guterres is doing, and what he is seeking, today more than ever, calls for the necessity of expanding the powers of this international organization, and giving it what helps it implement its decisions, to achieve a safer, more secure, more stable, just, and happier world. As for our Arab region, only the implementation of international resolutions issued by this organization, starting with Resolutions 194 and 242, all the way to Resolution 1701, which Israel violates every day, in front of the entire world, is capable of returning rights to their owners and bringing peace to the region.