U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made another urgent appeal Thursday for $5.5 billion to enable the globalist body to tackle the looming “catastrophe” posed by famine, coronavirus, war, climate, plague, pestilence and poor food security.
The funds would be on top of the U.N.’s 2021 operating budget of $3.231 billion and $6.5 billion allocation separately set aside for peacekeeping operations.
AP reports Guterres told a U.N. Security Council meeting more than 88 million people were suffering from “acute hunger” at the end of 2020 due to conflict and instability — a 20 percent increase in one year — and “projections for 2021 point to a continuation of this frightening trend.”
“Without immediate action, millions of people will reach the brink of extreme hunger and death,” Guterres continued, outlining some 30 million people in more than three dozen countries are “just one step away” from a declaration of famine.
His call is part of a familiar exhortation for the world to change and bend to the demands of the U.N. and its leaders.
“Climate shocks and the Covid-19 pandemic are adding fuel to the flames. I have one simple message: if you don’t feed people, you feed conflict,” he said.
At the end of 2020, more than 88 million people were suffering from acute hunger due to conflict and instability — a 20 percent increase in one year, he said, pointing to a worsening trend in 2021.
High-risk zones include the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, South Sudan, Yemen and Afghanistan.
The veteran Portuguese socialist called on donors for $5.5 billion for “the more than 34 million people who already face emergency levels of acute food insecurity” while at the same time positioning itself as a global expert on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Guterres urged Security Council members to use their “privileged position to do everything in your power to end violence, negotiate peace, and alleviate the hunger and suffering that afflict so many millions of people around the world.”
When the U.N. was first established in 1945 as an organization deliberating peace and security matters, the regular budget was $19.39 million in nominal dollars, according to a Heritage Foundation report. In 2016, it was $5.4 billion biennially.
Experts say three-fourths of the regular budget is spent on staffing and administrative costs. The U.S. spent $639 million on the regular budget in 2019 alone, as Breitbart News reported.
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