Secretary-General's end-of-year message to UN personnel

My dear Colleagues,

We are ending a year in which our world has faced great trials and tests.

Old and new conflicts claimed thousands of lives, injuring and displacing millions more.  The climate crisis continued to heat up.  And inequalities kept growing with a cost-of-living crisis raging. 

Against severe headwinds, the United Nations delivered real, meaningful solutions to advance peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. And we often did so despite long odds and deep skepticism from others.

None of that progress would have been possible without all of you, our United Nations personnel around the world.  So as we reach the end of this difficult and tumultuous year, I want to express my deep and abiding gratitude to you. 

Thank you for your dedication and commitment.

With COVID-19 restrictions easing this year, I was able to see more of your work for myself, both in the spotlight and behind the scenes.  I was enormously impressed, energized, and inspired by your strength and resilience.

In a world engulfed by crises, you are living proof of why our United Nations remains indispensable.

Of course, we have enormous work ahead of us in the face of escalating humanitarian needs, widening inequalities, eroding trust, and enduring conflicts.

But I have never been more certain that the only answer to this divided world is a truly United Nations.

We remain humanity’s best hope for a peaceful future on a livable planet.

You should be extremely proud of your role and contributions – just as I am proud to call you my colleagues. 

I wish you and your families a happy holiday season and healthy new year.

And as we say in my native Portugal: Bem hajam.

Shukran jazeelan.  Xie xie.  Thank you.  Merci beaucoup.  Spasibo.  Muchas gracias.

Yours sincerely, 

António Guterres