NEW YORK: At the yearly summit of international leaders held last year, the United Nations’ chief sounded an urgent call concerning the survival of both humanity and our planet. This year, the alarm rang louder and more ominously, and the message was even more pressing: Wake up and take action — right now.
In his characteristic no-nonsense style, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres painted a bleak picture, aiming to jolt the global community into awareness. He spoke of a world becoming increasingly “unhinged,” creeping ever closer to what he termed as “a great fracture.” The surge of conflicts, coups, and chaos on a global scale is alarming. Simultaneously, the climate crisis is escalating, and divisions are widening—divides between military and economic powers, as well as between the affluent North and the impoverished South, East and West. He pointed out that “a new Rubicon” had been crossed concerning artificial intelligence.
Guterres has been a vocal advocate on these critical issues, but this year, which he labelled as “a time of chaotic transition,” his address to the world’s leaders carried a sharper and more urgent tone. A closer look at his previous assessments of the state of the world indicates a consistent trajectory toward this crescendo.
In his inaugural address to world leaders in 2017, after assuming the helm of the United Nations with its 193 member states, Guterres highlighted the “nuclear peril” as the paramount global threat. Just two years later, he issued a warning about a world splitting into factions, particularly emphasizing the growing rivalry between the United States and China. He envisioned the creation of rival internets, currencies, trade, financial rules, and distinct zero-sum geopolitical and military strategies by these superpowers. Guterres urgently urged proactive measures to avert what he termed as “the great fracture.”
Then came the devastating COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. The global response Guterres fervently called for never fully materialized; wealthier nations acquired vaccines while poorer ones were left waiting. At last year’s gathering of leaders, his message remained almost as dire: “Our world is in peril and paralyzed,” Guterres declared. “We are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.”
This year, when addressing presidents, prime ministers, monarchs, and ministers congregated within the expansive General Assembly hall, Guterres delivered a clear and stark message. “We seem incapable,” he proclaimed, “of coming together to respond.” The urgency has never been more apparent, and the need for collective action never more pressing.
