United Nations chief warns assembly that world is becoming ‘unhinged’

The world is becoming “unhinged”, the secretary general of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has warned.

In his address to the general assembly of the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, he said that geopolitical tensions were rising and  global challenges were  mounting.

“And we seem incapable of coming together to respond.”

He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine - in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law -  had unleashed “a nexus of horror: lives destroyed; human rights abused; families torn apart; children traumatised; hopes and dreams shattered”.

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Mr Guterres called for sweeping changes to multilateral institutions, including reforming the  Security Council which sits at the heart of the United Nations’ structure and redesigning global financial systems.

He called for the council to reflect  the world of today. “The alternative to reform is not the status quo but further fragmentation.”

Mr Guterres said the world was making a “chaotic transition” and rapidly moving from a brief period of “unipolarity” – domination by a single power, the United States – toward a multipolar world with many power centres.

That is, he said, positive in many ways. “We are inching ever closer to a great fracture in economic and financial systems and trade relations,” he said. “One that threatens a single open Internet, with diverging strategies on technology and artificial intelligence, and potentially clashing security frameworks.”

Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden urged world leaders at the assembly to stand with Ukraine.

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalise Ukraine without consequence,” he said.

If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?”

Mr Biden drew applause when saying that the United States and its allies would stand with Ukraine’s fight for freedom. “Russia alone bears responsibility for this war,” the president said. “Russia alone has the power to end this war immediately.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa called for a peaceful resolution of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

He said the conflict in Ukraine and elsewhere has distracted from the UN’s development objectives.

“It is a great indictment that we can spend so much money on war, in fact trillions are spent on war, but we cannot take basic action to meet the basic needs of people around the world,” he said.

The South African president also called on wealthier countries on make good on their commitments to provide $100 billion to help developing countries adapt to climate change. He said Africa bore the brunt of a warming climate, despite bearing the least responsibility for climate change. “This must be changed and the money must be made available in the interest of development,” he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in his address to the assembly that his country was continuing with its efforts to bring about a negotiated end to war in Ukraine.

‘’We will keep up with our efforts to end the war with diplomacy and dialogue on the grounds of Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity,’’ he said.

Mr Biden’s address was the centrepiece event of his three-day visit to New York, which will include meetings with the heads of five Central Asian nations, and the leaders of Israel and Brazil.

The Democrat has made rallying US allies to support Ukraine a leading component of US foreign policy, arguing the world must send a clear signal to Russian president Vladimir Putin that he will not be able to outlast the West.

Mr Biden has faced criticism from some Republicans who want the US to spend less money on the war effort.

Former US president Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, has vowed to seek a quick end to the war if returned to power.