In brief
During a recent address, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concerns about the surge in global military spending, which reached a staggering $2.7 trillion. He emphasized that this spending diverts resources away from essential social services such as health and education, undermining global peace. Guterres advocates for a significant rebalancing of budgets to focus on development goals like eradicating hunger and enhancing education. He urged world leaders to consider the devastating impact of military expenditures on societal stability, positing that investing in people leads to more peaceful societies.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that escalating military expenditures, which reached $2.7 trillion last year, are detracting from essential investments in health, education, and job creation while failing to guarantee peace.
Guterres stated that the proof is evident: high military spending exacerbates conflict by inciting arms races and eroding trust, thereby diverting crucial resources from stability. This alarming trend follows a decade of military build-up and is detailed in a U.N. report titled The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future, which will be discussed at the upcoming General Assembly on September 22.
The report outlines 17 goals, agreed upon by world leaders in 2015, focusing on ending global hunger, fostering health, and ensuring quality education for children while striving to reduce inequality.
Remarkably, Guterres highlighted that only 35% of these objectives are currently on track. He stressed that now is the time to rebalance global budgets, claiming that militarizing expenditures at this scale is unsustainable.
A secure world is rooted in investments to combat poverty at least as much as in investments for wars, Guterres remarked to reporters.
Projected military spending could escalate to $6.6 trillion by 2035, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, unless trends shift. More than 100 countries increased their military budgets last year alone.
Guterres highlighted that even a fraction redirected from military spending could effectively tackle pressing issues such as education and health care. For instance, it’s estimated that only $93 million annually is needed to eliminate hunger by 2030. In comparison, military expenditures creating jobs in education and healthcare yield far greater employment opportunities than in defense.
U.N. disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu echoed the necessity of prioritizing development, reminding that it is vital for fostering international peace. She noted that many countries are resistant to scaling back military funding, emphasizing that the dialogue must begin among U.N. member states to reconsider how global security should be fostered through developmental investments.
