UN chief says “The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon”

United Nations, New York City

Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali

Delivering remarks to the press on the grave situation in the Middle East, UN Secretary-General Guterres says “conflict has broken to unimaginable limits,” calling for diplomacy to prevail over war.

The UN Chief laid out that in more than three weeks of conflict, the repercussions have been catastrophic, exacerbating an already fragile displacement crisis in the region while subsequently disrupting the global economy. On the latter, the market system has been “shocked,” he said, characterized by growing hostilities around critical maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.

Guterres additionally notes that drone and missile attacks have led to immense “human suffering,” where civilian casualties have had to pay the price for the ongoing grievances. Guterres calls for an immediate cessation in fighting, “full respect for international law,” and a clear message for each state involved in the tragedies.

To Iran, the Secretary-General urges the Islamic Republic to “stop attacking their neighbors that are not parties to the conflict,” respecting the recently adopted Security Council resolution 2817. He calls on Tehran to respect the economic sanctity of the Strait of Hormuz, where its prolonged closure has “choked the movement of oil, gas, and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season.”

To the United States and Israel, Guterres calls on each administration to immediately halt any further attacks, particularly polemical in Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas south of the Litani River in Lebanon.

In his recent visit to Lebanon, the Secretary-General notes that war has completely compromised the livelihoods of civilians in the South, where exchanged strikes by Hezbollah and the IDF have destroyed homes, villages, and urban centers, contributing to massive food insecurity and forcing people to seek refuge in other states.

While the Secretary-General has “remained in close contact with many leaders from the region and around the world,” highlighting his discussions with leaders of the Gulf states and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Guterres reveals the appointment of Jean Arnault as UN Personal Envoy to the Middle East war.

A senior French diplomat with nearly 40 years of experience in international diplomacy, Arnault has brokered peace settlements for the United Nations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Noted by the offices of Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, “His (Jean Arnault’s) most recent assignments include his service, between 2015 and 2018, as the Secretary-General’s Delegate to the Colombia peace talks, and then as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Colombia, where he led UN efforts to verify the implementation of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement in that country. From 2019 to 2020, he was the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Bolivia. In 2021, Mr. Arnault was named the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Afghanistan and Regional Issues.”