U.N. News: Annual report: Pandemic recovery must be measured in ‘human rather than economic terms’
“We must ‘commit’ to building a more inclusive and sustainable world, the U.N. chief underscored in his annual report on the Work of the Organization, launched on Thursday. In the Introduction, Secretary-General António Guterres said the international community should reflect on ‘our shared progress as well as … our vision and values’. He highlighted some of the Organization’s accomplishments, such as putting in place vital agreements that codify and protect human rights, setting ambitious goals for sustainable development, and charting a path towards a more balanced relationship with the natural world, among many others. However, he also outlined some challenges ahead, saying more remains to be done to ‘hold back the tides of fear, hatred, inequality, poverty, and injustice.’ The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the world’s fragility, laying bare ‘risks ignored for decades,’ namely, inadequate health systems; gaps in social protection; structural inequalities; environmental degradation; and the climate crisis, flagged the U.N. chief…” (10/1).