United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized the deadlock in the global order, saying that countries do “whatever they like,” despite the fact that they face common existential threats.
“Even the Cold War era was, in some ways, less dangerous,” he said, citing the ability of the United States and Soviet Union to work on nuclear arms reduction despite being rival superpowers.
In his opening speech at the 60th Munich Security Conference on Friday, Guterres addressed diplomats around the world at a panel titled Growing the Pie: A Global Order That Works for Everyone.
“Today, in our multipolar world, we still face the nuclear danger. And we are dealing with two more threats with existential dimensions: the climate crisis, and the risks of uncontrolled artificial intelligence.”
“In fact, I will go further and say it’s not working for anyone. Our world is facing existential challenges, but the global community is more fragmented and divided than at any time during the past 75 years,” the U.N. chief said.
Guterres said there is no justification for the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 or Israel’s military response, which included collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
“The situation in Gaza is an appalling indictment of the deadlock in global relations. The level of death and destruction is shocking in itself, and the war is also spilling over borders across the region and affecting global trades.”
The U.N. chief said the humanitarian aid operation is no longer on life support in Gaza but is barely functioning.
“Humanitarians are working under unimaginable conditions, including live fire, multiple physical obstacles – and these are all restrictions – as well as the breakdown of public order.”
Attack on Rafah to be devastating for Gazans
Commenting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to carry out an extensive military offensive on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Guterres said the military action on the densely populated city should never take place.
“Rafah is at the core of the entire humanitarian aid operation. An all-out offensive on the city will be devastating for the 1.5 million Palestinian civilians there, who are already on the edge of survival.”
The U.N. chief reiterated his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and a humanitarian cease-fire in the besieged enclave, saying: “That is the only way to massively scale up a delivery in Gaza. And this must be the foundation for concrete and reversible steps toward a two-state solution based on international law and U.N. resolutions.”
‘Ukraine war has no place in Europe’
The U.N. chief later commented on the war in Ukraine, saying the cost of human lives is appalling.
“The war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in clear violation of the U.N. Charter has no place in Europe of the 21st century. Two years in, the cost of human lives and suffering is appalling and the impact on the global economy has been particularly devastating for developing countries.
“We desperately need a just and sustained peace for Ukraine, for Russia and the world; but a peace in line with UN Charter and international law, which establishes the obligation to respect the territorial integrity of sovereign states.”
In his comparison of today’s “world order” to the previous eras, the U.N. chief said: “Even the Cold War era was in some ways less dangerous. The threat of nuclear war was real and existential. That’s why the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on arms reductions and controls and other mechanisms to prevent mutually assured destruction.”
“Today, in our multipolar worlds, we still face nuclear dangers and we are dealing with two more threats with existential dimensions, the climate crisis and the risks of uncontrolled artificial intelligence and we have been unable to take effective steps to respond to any of these existential challenges.”
Guterres says the multipolarity has created important opportunities for balance and justice for new leadership on the global stage.
“But the transition to multipolarity without strong global institutions can create chaos. When power relations are vague, the dangers of aggressive opportunism and miscalculation grow and today we see countries doing whatever they like, with no accountability. Impunity seems to be the name of the game. And so we must all be determined to reestablish the primacy of the rule of law.”
