UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening of the General Debate of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept 19, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for effective multilateral institutions to tackle global challenges.

"The world has changed. Our institutions have not. We cannot effectively address problems as they are if institutions do not reflect the world as it is. Instead of solving problems, they risk becoming part of the problem," he said.

In his "state-of-the-world" report right before the opening of this year's General Debate of the UN General Assembly, Guterres warned that the world is becoming "unhinged."

"Geopolitical tensions are rising. Global challenges are mounting. And we seem incapable of coming together to respond," he said.

The world confronts a host of existential threats, from the climate crisis to disruptive technologies, and the world is undergoing a chaotic transition, he noted.

For much of the Cold War, international relations were largely seen through the prism of two superpowers. Then came a short period of unipolarity. Now the world is rapidly moving toward a multipolar world. This is, in many ways, positive. It brings new opportunities for justice and balance in international relations. But multipolarity alone cannot guarantee peace, he said.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was truly multipolar as it had numerous powers. But it lacked robust multilateral institutions and the result was World War I, he said.

A multipolar world needs strong and effective multilateral institutions. Yet global governance is stuck in time, he warned.

The UN Security Council and the Bretton Woods system reflect the political and economic realities of 1945, when many countries in today's UN General Assembly were still under colonial domination.

We are inching ever closer to a Great Fracture in economic and financial systems and trade relations; one that threatens a single, open internet; with diverging strategies on technology and artificial intelligence; and potentially clashing security frameworks.

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN

He warned that divides are deepening - divides among economic and military powers, divides between North and South, East and West.

"We are inching ever closer to a Great Fracture in economic and financial systems and trade relations; one that threatens a single, open internet; with diverging strategies on technology and artificial intelligence; and potentially clashing security frameworks," he said. "It is high time to renew multilateral institutions based on 21st century economic and political realities, rooted in equity, solidarity and universality and anchored in the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law."

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That means reforming the Security Council in line with the world of today. It means redesigning the international financial architecture so that it becomes truly universal and serves as a global safety net for developing countries in trouble, he said.

"I have no illusions. Reforms are a question of power. I know there are many competing interests and agendas. But the alternative to reform is not the status quo. The alternative to reform is further fragmentation," he said. "It's reform or rupture."

Guterres called for compromise.

"Our world needs statesmanship, not gamesmanship and gridlock. As I told the G20 (Group of 20), it is time for a global compromise. Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise. Leaders have a special responsibility to achieve compromise in building a common future of peace and prosperity for our common good," he said.

Multilateral action has produced results over the past year, with important new agreements on safeguarding biodiversity, on protecting the high seas, on climate loss and damage, and on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, he noted. "We have all the tools and resources to solve our shared challenges. What we need is determination."

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He called for determination to uphold the UN Charter's pledge for peace.

The world is witnessing a surge of conflicts, coups and chaos. If every country fulfilled its obligations under the UN Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed. When countries break those pledges, they create a world of insecurity for everyone, he said.

"Nuclear threats put us all at risk. Ignoring global treaties and conventions makes us all less safe. And the poisoning of global diplomacy obstructs progress across the board," said Guterres. "We must not relent in working for peace - a just peace in line with the UN Charter and international law."

Peace is inextricably linked to sustainable development, he said. "We see a familiar pattern around the world: the closer a country is to conflict, the farther it is from the Sustainable Development Goals."

Guterres called for reform of the international financial institutions.

The international financial architecture is dysfunctional, outdated and unjust. The deep reforms that are needed will not happen overnight, he said. "But we can take determined steps now to help countries weather crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically impacted."

He called for determination to tackle the most immediate threat to humanity: global warming.

"Climate change is not just a change in the weather. Climate change is changing life on our planet. It is affecting every aspect of our work. It is killing people and devastating communities. With accelerating temperatures comes an acceleration in sea levels rising, glaciers receding, deadly diseases spreading, the extinction of species, and cities under threat. And this is only the beginning," he said.

"We have just survived the hottest days, hottest months, and hottest summer on the books. Behind every broken record are broken economies, broken lives, and whole nations at the breaking point," the UN chief said.

Actions are falling abysmally short. The G20 countries, which are responsible for 80 percent of greenhouse emissions, must lead. Developed countries must reach net zero as close as possible to 2040, and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050. Developed countries must finally deliver the $100 billion every year for developing country climate action, as promised; double adaptation finance by 2025, as promised; and replenish the Green Climate Fund, as promised, he said.

All countries must work to operationalize the loss and damage fund this year and ensure universal early warning coverage by 2027, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said

All countries must work to operationalize the loss and damage fund this year and ensure universal early warning coverage by 2027, he said. "Climate chaos is breaking new records. But we cannot afford the same old broken record of scapegoating and waiting for others to move first."

Guterres also called for determination to honor the UN Charter's commitment to fundamental human rights, including women's rights.

Women are still waiting for equal opportunities and equal pay, for equality under the law, for their work to be valued and their opinions to count. Around the globe, women's rights, including sexual and reproductive rights, are being suppressed and even rolled back, and women's freedoms curtailed, he noted.

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He stressed the need to tackle the threats posed by new technologies.

Generative artificial intelligence holds much promise. But it may also lead humanity across a Rubicon and into more danger than humanity can control. Even some of those who developed generative AI are calling for greater regulation. But many of the dangers of digital technology are not looming on the horizon. They are here, he said.

New technologies require new and innovative forms of governance. There is an urgent need for a Global Digital Compact between governments, regional organizations, the private sector and civil society to mitigate the risks of digital technologies, and identify ways to harness their benefits for the good of humanity, he said.

The United Nations was created precisely for moments of maximum danger and minimum agreement, said Guterres. "Despite our long list of global challenges, that same spirit of determination can guide us forward. Let us be determined to heal divisions and forge peace, determined to uphold the dignity and worth of every person, determined to realize the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind, determined to reform multilateralism for the 21st century and come together for the common good."