GENEVA
Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Tuesday called for an urgent global mobilization for peace.
Speaking at the 10th UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum in Portugal, Zapatero highlighted the worsening state of global conflicts, emphasizing the growing violence in Gaza, Ukraine, and Africa.
“The Alliance of Civilizations must be an Alliance of Civilizations for peace. And Mr. Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres), someone must initiate a global social mobilization for peace in favor of an international community that is about to be destroyed, broken, and shattered in its capacity for dialogue,” he said.
Zapatero described the UN Alliance of Civilizations as a tool for promoting peace and called on civil society to pressure governments into ending conflicts.
Condemning the human toll of war, he criticized the relentless use of bombs, drones, and missiles that claim innocent lives.
“Women and children do not know what they are dying for,” he said. “Mr. Secretary-General, how many victims will there be this week in the wars we are experiencing? No, we cannot take pride in this. Millions must mobilize.”
He called for firm action to uphold the principles of the UN Charter signed in San Francisco, stressing that these principles are “trampled on every day.”
Zapatero argued that “every instance of international law being violated results in more victims, war, violence, and hatred,” adding: “It is difficult to consider democracies that violate international laws as democracies.”
He also commended Guterres for his “dignity” in addressing the Gaza crisis.
