Talk to UN News ahead of the 11th Global Forum of the Alliance, which opens on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Miguel Ángel Moratinos urged young people around the world to reclaim peace as a global priority.
The future depends on a new generation ready to choose dialogue over division and humanity over hatred, he said.
Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), during an interview with the UN media team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A unique role
The Alliance is a leading United Nations platform for intercultural dialogue. As the forum celebrates 20 years since its inception, Mr Moratinos reflected on how the world has changed over the past two decades.
When the Alliance was created in 2005 on the initiative of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the international order was unipolar.
Today it is multipolar, with emerging powers from the Arab world, Asia, Africa and Latin America demanding to be seen and heard.
The Alliance is in a unique position to bring them and everyone else to the same table, he insisted.
Mr. Moratinos recognizes, however, that the world has become more complex. He sees this as a challenge that requires a deeper commitment to listening, dialogue and understanding.
AI: opportunities and challenges
One of the most pressing issues Mr Moratinos identifies is artificial intelligence – a force he believes will shape the future in profound ways, while warning of the challenges ahead.
“A machine doesn’t care about religion, faith or ethics – but humans do.“, he said. This is why he insists that AI must remain human-centered, guided by human values and human decision-making.
He warned of the risk of people giving up their freedom and responsibilities to machines. If humanity forgets its moral compass, he warned, technology will not correct the situation. For Mr. Moratinos, the Alliance of Civilizations exists precisely to protect values and ethics.
Social media can enable cyberbullying.
“Hate is back and it’s dangerous”
Addressing one of the Alliance’s major concerns, he spoke of the resurgence of hate speech, particularly online.
“Hate is back,“, said Mr. Moratinos. “Hate makes you feel like you have to eliminate your counterpart.”
He warned that hatred begins with words but leads to exclusion, violence and conflict. To combat this phenomenon, the Alliance invests in programs that promote counter-narratives and encourage understanding. And he said young people are at the heart of these efforts.
Today’s young people live “a large part of their lives” in virtual spaces which, he fears, can distance them from real human relationships.
“We need to restore realism to young people” he said, calling for a better balance between the online world and real life – where relationships, cultures and communities truly take shape.
Peace must come first
Mr Moratinos said the world had become consumed by security and, in doing so, had forgotten about peace.
“Everyone is much more concerned about security than peace. » he said. “But there will be no security without peace. »
Saving the planet, he added, makes no sense if humanity continues to self-destruct. He highlighted the heavy human toll of the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, and insisted that the world must refocus on what really matters: saving humanity.
“Peace with a capital P,“, he said, must be the defining message of the Riyadh forum and the guiding principle for generations to come.
And he believes it’s young people who can make this vision a reality. Only they, he says, can decide that the 21st century will be the last century marked by war.
Publicado anteriormente en Almouwatin.
