UN’s Guterres urges global solutions as uncertain world edges toward a ‘powder keg’

The world is locked in a “purgatory of polarity” with a growing number of governments and others feeling entitled to a “get out of jail free card”, Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN General Assembly, which opened its annual high-level meeting on Tuesday.

Delivering his 2024 report on the UN’s work ahead of the general debate, Mr. Guterres said world leaders were gathering in the shadow of raging conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere, and rising uncertainty over climate change, ending poverty and reigning in AI.  

“Our world is in a whirlwind. We are in an era of epic transformation – facing challenges unlike any we have ever seen – challenges that demand global solutions,” the UN chief said.

He warned that geo-political divisions are deepening, temperatures around the world are rising, wars are raging – without any end in sight, and nuclear posturing and new weapons are “casting a dark shadow”.

“We are edging towards the unimaginable – a powder keg that risks engulfing the world,” he said.

Two overriding truths

Mr. Guterres told Heads of States and Government in attendance that he stood before them with two “overriding truths”:  

“First, the state of our world is unsustainable – we cannot go on like this. And second, the challenges we face are solvable – but that requires us to make sure the mechanisms of international problem-solving actually solve problems.”

While the Summit of the Future, which preceded the annual high-level week and saw UN Member States agree a forward-looking declaration known as the Pact for the Future “was a first step,” the Secretary-General underscored “we have a long way to go.”

Getting there requires confronting three major drivers of unsustainability:

• A world of impunity – where violations and abuses threaten the very foundation of international law and the UN Charter.
• A world of inequality – where injustices and grievances threaten to undermine countries or even push them over the edge.
• And a world of uncertainty – where unmanaged global risks threaten our future in unknowable ways.

“These worlds of impunity, inequality and uncertainty are connected and colliding,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the level of impunity is politically indefensible and morally intolerable,” and there are those who feel they can trample international law, violate the UN Charter, and invade other countries but are “entitled to a get out of jail free card”.  

‘Nonstop nightmare in Gaza’  

The Secretary-General said that this impunity was starkly evident in the Middle East, in the heart of Europe, in the Horn of Africa, and beyond.  

Emphasizing that the war in Ukraine “is spreading with no signs of letting up, and with civilians paying the price in rising death tolls and shattered lives and communities, “It is time for a just peace based on the UN Charter, on international law and on UN resolutions.

“Meanwhile, Gaza is a non-stop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it.

Look no further than Lebanon. We should all be alarmed by the escalation.  

Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world – cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,’ stated the UN chief.

On Sudan, he said a “brutal power struggle” had sparked a humanitarian catastrophe that was unfolding as famine spreads. “Yet outside powers continue to interfere with no unified approach to finding peace,” he said.

A ‘purgatory of polarity’

Going on to say the conflicts and deepening political divisions have left the world in a “purgatory of polarity,’ the Secretary-General said that more and more countries are filling the spaces of geopolitical divides, doing whatever they want with no accountability.

“That is why it is more important than ever to reaffirm the Charter, to respect international law, to support and implement decisions of international courts, and to reinforce human rights in the world. Anywhere and everywhere,” he stated.

‘We must choose the future we want’

The UN chief stressed that it is in all our interests to manage the epic transformations underway; to choose the future we want and to guide our world towards it. 
 
“Many have said that the differences and divisions today are just too great. That it is impossible for us to come together for the common good. “You proved that is not true,” he said, recalling that the Summit of the Future showed that with a spirit of dialogue and compromise, “we can join forces to steer our world to a more sustainable path.” 
 
But the Summit is not the end, he stated, “It is the start of a journey, a compass in the whirlwind. Let’s keep going. Let’s move our world towards less impunity and more accountability …. less inequality and more justice … less uncertainty and more opportunity.”