(Dan Tri) – United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is entering a `period of chaos` as conflicts break out in many places.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo: Reuters).
In his annual speech presenting priorities for 2024 to the Security Council in New York on February 7, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said global conflicts and wars are creating a reality.
`For millions of people caught in conflicts around the world, life is a daily hell of hunger, thirst, death,` Mr. Guterres said, describing this as an `age of chaos.`
According to the United Nations Secretary General, the Security Council is `deadlocked by geopolitical rifts`.
Mr. Guterres said one of the issues dividing the United Nations is Israel’s war in Gaza.
`Such action would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare, with consequences that are yet to be fully counted in the region,` Mr. Guterres added.
The UN Secretary-General also criticized countries seeking to increase their stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, measures he said only aimed at adding to global instability and causing tensions within the United Nations.
`After decades of nuclear disarmament, countries are competing to make their nuclear weapons faster, stealthier and more accurate,` Mr. Guterres said.
These weapons are being developed without protection, he added, `creating new ways to kill each other and for humanity to destroy itself.`
The UN Secretary General stated that although the Security Council has experienced division in the past, `the current dysfunction is deeper and more dangerous`.
`During the Cold War, well-established mechanisms helped manage relations between superpowers. In today’s multipolar world, such mechanisms are lacking,` Mr. Guterres said.
The UN chief also called on member states to live `in harmony with the planet` by committing to reducing harmful emissions and working to eliminate fossil fuels, pointing out that `the
In the gloomy global context, Mr. Guterres called on world leaders to come together to attend the `Future Summit` to be held in New York in September, adding that this is an opportunity to
