In ‘portunhol’, as he said, the Secretary-General of the United Nations thanked the European Prize Carlos V, which was presented to him this Tuesday in Spain.
Antonio Guterres said that he “genuinely moved”, referring to the fact that it is an “honor” to receive this award.
Recalling the legacy of Charles V, the UN Secretary-General lamented that “war is not a thing of the past”.
“Never since the creation of the UN and the European Union” have European values been “so threatened,” he said, referring to the war in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine “violates the United Nations Charter and UN international law,” he stressed, underlining that “the struggle for peace is our goal”.
“Instead of bullets, we need diplomatic arsenals,” he said. “We must find out everything to resolve our differences peacefully,” he added.
He also spoke about the war on climate change and the need for peace between man and nature.
“Democratic principles and the rule of law are all too often under attack. Hate speech, polarization, racism and xenophobia are spreading at the speed of a click.”
He said the pandemic has helped expose the world’s frailties, saying “a lot of injustice is on the rise”.
Guterres also pointed out the importance of building a “social contract that empowers young people to live with dignity”, in which women have the same opportunities as men and that protects the vulnerable and all minorities. “There is no justice without equality,” he noted.
“Only a united Europe can meet the enormous challenges of the present and the future,” he said.
“On this Europe Day, let us reaffirm the ideals of peace, justice and international cooperation and together we will tirelessly defend dignity and human rights, dialogue and mutual respect,” he stressed.
At the age of 74, the leader of the UN since 2017, he received the European Carlos V Prize, awarded by the Foundation of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste at a ceremony presided over by King Felipe VI.
For the jury, the United Nations Secretary-General and former Portuguese Prime Minister was “a fundamental figure in a period of unprecedented change and with dire consequences for Europe and the world”.
The European Carlos V Prize recognizes the work of “people, organisations, projects or initiatives that have contributed to the general knowledge and improvement of Europe’s cultural, social, scientific and historical values, as well as to the process of European construction and integration”.
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Prime Minister, António Guterres, attend the ceremony at Yuste Monastery, Cáceres.
Source: DN
