UN Secretary-General says world heading toward 'powder keg'
Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres (getty images)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that impunity, inequality, and uncertainty are driving modern civilization towards "a powder keg that risks engulfing the world", according to AP.
"We can’t go on like this," the UN Secretary-General said as he opened the annual high-level gathering of the UN’s 193 member nations.
He remarked that the world is living in an era of epic transformation and is facing unprecedented challenges, including deepening geopolitical divisions, global warming, and wars raging in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and other regions with no clear end in sight.
"We are edging towards the unimaginable – a powder keg that risks engulfing the world," Guterres said.
However, he added, hope remains — "The challenges we face are solvable."
Guterres described the situation in Gaza as "a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it." In Ukraine, he noted, there are no signs of the war abating. In Sudan, "a brutal power struggle has unleashed horrific violence," including mass rapes.
To confront these challenges, Guterres said the world must address three driving forces of unsustainability — the uncertainty of unmanaged risks, inequality at the heart of injustice and resentment, and impunity that undermines international law and the fundamental principles of the UN.
US President Joe Biden also delivered remarks at the UN General Assembly, which will likely be his last as the American leader. He addressed the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa while outlining the key global challenges ahead.
