Antonio Guterres

Politician

1949-04-30

Portuguese politician and diplomat serving as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. He previously served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and as United Nations high commissioner for refugees from 2005 to 2015. His public career has focused on diplomacy, humanitarian issues, and multilateral cooperation.

Quotes by Antonio Guterres

As a global community, we face a choice. Do we want migration to be a source of prosperity and international solidarity, or a byword for inhumanity and social friction?
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Stateless people are hidden. During the 2011 refugee crises, it was obvious that people were fleeing Somalia and Libya - there was a lot of international attention. Statelessness goes undetected because stateless people are in legal limbo and are afraid to show up.
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I think Australia is an extremely relevant partner and a key instrument for the stability, the progress, and the support of the East Timorese.
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Negative gender stereotypes related to girls' education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics begin as early as primary school and have the devastating effect of making them doubt their own potential.
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Preventing conflict means going back to basics - strengthening institutions and building resilient societies.
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When counterterrorist policies are used to suppress peaceful protests and legitimate opposition movements, shut down debate, target human rights defenders, or stigmatize minorities, they fail, and we all lose. Indeed, such responses may cause further resentment and instability and contribute to radicalization.
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When we achieve human rights and human dignity for all people - they will build a peaceful, sustainable, and just world.
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There is increasing recognition that violence against women is a major barrier to the fulfilment of human rights and a direct challenge to women's inclusion and participation in sustainable development and sustaining peace.
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It's true that globalization, with all its fantastic improvements in the world and the technological progress linked to it, has increased inequality at country level, especially inside countries. And there are people that were left behind - people, sectors, regions - that has created a sense of frustration in the rust belts of the world.
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Terrorism is a persistent and evolving global menace. No country is immune.
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We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the U.N. Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance, and solidarity.
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Plastic waste is now found in the most remote areas of the planet. It kills marine life and is doing major harm to communities that depend on fishing and tourism.
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Migration powers economic growth, reduces inequalities, and connects diverse societies. Yet it is also a source of political tensions and human tragedies.
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The world's problems transcend borders.
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We have to transcend our differences to transform our future.
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Humanitarian response, sustainable development, and sustaining peace are three sides of the same triangle.
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As we face the headwinds of our troubled and turbulent times, let us always be inspired by the legacy of Kofi Annan - and guided by the knowledge that he will continue speaking to us, urging us on toward the goals to which he dedicated his life and truly moved our world.
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The total elimination of nuclear weapons remains the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations.
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The future is unpredictable.
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Nagasaki and Hiroshima remind us to put peace first every day; to work on conflict prevention and resolution, reconciliation, and dialogue; and to tackle the roots of conflict and violence.
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