UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the General Assembly that widening global divisions reflected a fundamental struggle over how power was exercised and controlled. “The greatest power is not the power to dominate. It is the power to build a future that works for everyone,” Guterres said.
“The fault lines in our world are widening. Cracks have become canyons.”
Guterres said power was being reshaped by emerging countries, the transfer of authority from governments to corporations and the growing role of AI and autonomous weapons.
On international security, Guterres said conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar continued inflicting severe harm on civilians.
Guterres renewed calls for compliance with International Court of Justice orders concerning Gaza and warned that settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank threatened the two-state solution.
Guterres also called for reform of the UN Security Council, describing the absence of permanent African representation as “unjust and indefensible”.
On inequality, Guterres said record global wealth existed alongside widespread shortages of food, clean water, education and healthcare.
The international financial system continued burdening developing countries with debt while limiting resources available for development and climate resilience.
Guterres called for faster debt relief, stronger multilateral development banks and fairer access to International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights.
“Equality is not a dream. It is a decision,” Guterres said, announcing that the UN had achieved full gender parity across senior leadership, headquarters staff and professional positions for the first time.
Guterres described climate change as the “most profound intergenerational power imbalance” and warned that exceeding the 1.5°C warming threshold was almost certain.
Developed countries should triple adaptation financing, while major polluters should contribute more towards addressing climate damage.
On AI, Guterres called for a multilateral risk-management framework supported by independent oversight. “The danger is not technology. The danger is technology without accountability,” Guterres said.
“Life-and-death decisions must never be surrendered to machines. Killer robots must have no place in our future.”
Guterres said peace, development and human rights remained inseparable foundations of international cooperation.
“The world does not need a weaker UN,” Guterres said. “It needs a UN strong enough to face the world as it is and determined enough to build the world as it should be.”
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
