THE United Nations security council urged the 193 United Nations member nations on Tuesday to use all possible means to settle disputes peacefully.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres told the security council that diplomacy is needed now more than ever as he pointed to “the horror show in Gaza” and conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar.

Mr Guterres said: “Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law,” as well as the UN Charter.

It is happening at a time of widening geopolitical divides and numerous conflicts, starting with Gaza, where “starvation is knocking on every door” as Israel denies the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid and save Palestinian lives, Mr Guterres said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.

In conflicts worldwide, “hunger and displacement are at record levels” and security is pushed further out of reach by terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime, the secretary-general said.

“Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability,” Mr Guterres said. “But it still holds the power to stop them.”

The resolution urges all countries to use the methods in the UN Charter to peacefully settle disputes, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, referral to regional arrangements or other peaceful means.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who chaired the meeting, cited “the ongoing tragedies” in Gaza and between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, one of the oldest disputes on the UN agenda, that need to be resolved peacefully.

“At the heart of almost all the conflicts across the globe is a crisis of multilateralism: a failure, not of principles but of will, a paralysis, not of institutions but of political courage,” he said.

Acting United States ambassador Dorothy Shea said that the Trump administration supports the United Nations’ founding principles of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war and working with parties to resolve disputes peacefully.

She said the war in Ukraine must end and Russia must stop attacking civilians and fulfil its obligations under the UN Charter, which requires all member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every other country.

“We call on other UN member states to stop providing Russia with the means to continue its aggression,” Ms Shea added without referencing the billions in military support provided by the US to both Israel and Ukraine.