UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered his first formal briefing to the Security Council [transcript] on Tuesday. In the briefing [UN News Centre report], Guterres “underlined the need for new, strengthened efforts to build and sustain peace.” Guterres stressed that a new approach is needed to start preventing crises instead of responding to them. He advocated stronger emphasis on prevention, conflict resolution, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and sustainable development. Guterres also outlined the need for each member state to take cohesion and peace more seriously for the UN’s objectives to be achieved. Furthermore, he outlined that a dedication to prevention as well as trust in the system and other member states, was essential to success.

Guterres five-year term began on January 1, 2016. In an ppinion piece on Monday Guterres outlined his vision for the UN [UN News Centre report], including maintaining peace and security, promoting economic development, and combatting climate change In November Guterres, who was Secretary-General-elect at the time, urged [JURIST report] peacekeepers to respect human rights after numerous reports of violations. In October, the SG-elect was also called to eliminate [JURIST report] offshore tax havens for billionaires.