© 2024 WBGO
Discover Jazz...Anywhere, Anytime, on Any Device.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

U-N Secretary General Tells Seton Hall Graduates They Face a World of Strife and Division

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks at the U.N. headquarters on January 16.
Atilgan Ozdil/Getty Images

Antonio Guterres decried the war in Ukraine, companies that deny climate change, and conspiracy theories on social media that spark mass shootings like in Buffalo.

Seton Hall graduates got a sobering view of the world they will soon enter from the top official of the U-N, Antonio Guterres.

“As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I feel it is my duty to report that you are entering a world brimming with peril, you face conflicts and divisions on a scale not seen in decades,” he said.

Speaking at the ceremony at the Prudential Center, Guterres talked about “the war in Ukraine, a violation of that country’s territorial integrity and the charter of the United Nations, which is causing immense human suffering, destruction and death.”

He moved on to conspiracy theories on social media that are spreading distrust in government and in some cases result in mass murder.

“Hate and extremist thought are being amplified across societies, seen tragically once again by the outrageous racist massacre in Buffalo 10 days ago,” said Guterres.

Finally, he urged the graduates not to work for companies he called climate wreckers, which promote the use of fossil fuels and are “killing the planet.”

Janice Kirkel is a lifelong award-winning journalist who has done everything from network newscasts to national and local sports reports to business newscasts to specialized reporting and editing in technical areas of business and finance such as bankruptcy, capital structure changes and reporting on the business of the investment business.