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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the major powers cannot solve global crises on their own, calling for stronger international cooperation and a more representative United Nations.
In his final address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Guterres said the world’s divisions had deepened, with wars, inequality, climate change and rapid advances in artificial intelligence creating an unprecedented convergence of threats.
“Military power alone cannot secure peace. Economic power alone cannot command stability. And technological power alone cannot guarantee security,” Guterres said, urging superpowers to recognise the limits of their influence.
The UN chief, who will leave office at the end of December after a decade in the post, said geopolitical divisions had turned into “canyons” as trust between countries weakened and international law was increasingly ignored.
He called for an overhaul of global governance, including reform of the UN Security Council, saying the absence of permanent African representation was “unjust and indefensible”.
Guterres also highlighted the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. He called for an end to fighting in Gaza and the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid, while warning that violence, displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank were undermining prospects for a two-state solution.
On Ukraine, he condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion but also warned that attacks on infrastructure in parts of Russia could threaten global food and energy supplies.
Guterres further called for stronger international safeguards on artificial intelligence, warning that humans were increasingly transferring power to machines and that autonomous weapons were becoming a military reality.
He also criticised major energy companies over their profits amid the climate crisis and urged governments to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.
Despite his warnings, Guterres defended the UN as an essential forum for international cooperation.
He said the organisation had achieved gender parity for the first time across its senior leadership and professional staff.
“Equality is not a dream. It is a decision,” he said, arguing that institutional change remained possible.
