UN chief asks Security Council to spend resources in peace instead of war

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on the Security Council to channel the resources often spent on war to development and peace.



Guterres made the plea at an open debate of the Security Council on the future of the United Nations, held to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the founding of the world body.



Via a video link from Hanoi, the secretary-general started his speech by alluding to an anecdote of the Security Council.



Guterres said that in the spring of 1946, the first ballot box of the Security Council was opened for inspection before voting, and to everyone's surprise, there was already a slip of paper inside. It was a message from the box's maker, a local New York mechanic named Paul Antonio, who said he wished for lasting peace all over the world, the UN chief said.



"That humble note reminds us why the Security Council exists: for people -- sincere, hopeful people who, for the last eight decades, have placed their trust in this institution to save them from the scourge of war," he said.



"The privilege to sit at this table carries a duty, above all, to honor the faith of those people. And to channel the resources so often spent on war to the causes of development and peace," said the UN chief.