'Age of chaos': UN chief urges greater unity in global body on crucial issues

With a sharply split UN Security Council that is unable to address pressing issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning today, predicting that the world is about to enter “an age of chaos”.

Guterres issued a warning on Wednesday, as the Gaza conflict entered its fifth month, stating that further Israeli military advances into the southern city of Rafah would “exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences”.

Over a million people have been forced to flee southward as a result of Israeli forces’ persistent bombing of the Gaza Strip and ground invasion in their quest to destroy Hamas following their historic offensive on October 7.

“It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages,” Guterres said during a speech to the General Assembly presenting his 2024 priorities.

Among other measures, he urged for changes to the international banking system and the Security Council in his speech, praising his September “Summit of the Future” as a crucial forum to confront dysfunction that is “deeper and more dangerous” than before.

“The United Nations Security Council — the primary platform for questions of global peace — is deadlocked by geopolitical fissures,” said Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister.

“This is not the first time the Council has been divided — but it is the worst. Today’s dysfunction is deeper and more dangerous.”

In contrast to the Cold War, he claimed that “well-established mechanisms helped manage superpower relations,” but these mechanisms are absent “in today’s multipolar world.”

His comments coincide with horrific conflicts that have left millions of people uprooted and in need of aid in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and other countries.

“As conflicts proliferate, global humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, but funding is not keeping pace,” Guterres said.

Amidst this gloomy situation, Guterres urged world leaders to take advantage of the “Summit of the Future,” which will take place in September in New York alongside the yearly General Assembly, in order to “shape multilateralism for years to come”.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, he reiterated his request for the creation of a “platform for emergencies to enhance international response to complex global shocks.”

Since assuming office in 2017, Guterres has prioritized combating climate change. She reaffirmed that the issue “remains the defining challenge of our time” and urged people to “make peace with the planet.”

In the face of this dire circumstance, Guterres called on world leaders to use the opportunity presented by the “Summit of the Future,” which will be held in September in New York in conjunction with the annual General Assembly, to “shape multilateralism for years to come.”

In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, he restated his call for the establishment of a “platform for emergencies to enhance international response to complex global shocks.”

Fighting climate change has been Guterres’ top priority since taking office in 2017. In his statement, he reiterated that the problem “remains the defining challenge of our time” and asked humanity to “make peace with the planet.”

(With agency inputs)