Guterres warns world ‘brimming with conflict’ as global cooperation frays

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the world is “brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability,” even as international cooperation weakens when it is most needed.

Guterres issued the warning on Thursday in his final address to the General Assembly outlining priorities for 2026.

The UN chief, who assumed office in January 2017, is due to leave office in December.

He succeeded Ban Ki-moon at a time of optimism for multilateralism, following agreement on the Paris climate accord and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Guterres said the global system faces unprecedented strain from wars, division, climate breakdown and declining respect for international law.

He framed the speech as both a diagnosis of global disorder and a personal pledge to pursue change in his final year.

His three guiding priorities were upholding the UN Charter, peace between nations and with nature, and unity in an age of deepening division.

“We are a world brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability,” Guterres told delegates.

Rather than listing initiatives, he said he wanted to focus on “larger forces and megatrends shaping our world.”

Guterres warned that widening geopolitical divisions and cuts to development and humanitarian funding were testing multilateralism itself.

“That is the paradox of our era. When we need cooperation most, we are least inclined to invest in it.

“Some seek to put international cooperation on deathwatch. I can assure you: we will not give up,” he said.

The UN chief cited engagements in conflicts from Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan and Yemen, stressing that silencing guns alone was insufficient.

“Peace is more than the absence of war,” he said, pointing to poverty, inequality and weak institutions as drivers of violence.

Guterres criticised what he called the visible erosion of international law.

“The erosion of international law is unfolding before the eyes of the world, on our screens, live in 4K,” he said.

He referenced attacks on civilians and aid workers, unconstitutional power changes, repression of dissent, rights abuses and resource plundering.

Guterres also warned about wealth concentration, noting the richest one per cent control 43 per cent of global financial assets.

“This level of concentration is morally indefensible,” he said.

He cautioned against unchecked artificial intelligence, warning algorithms shaping public life must not be controlled by a few companies.

“We must ensure humanity steers technology, not the other way around,” he said.

On climate change, Guterres said a world in climate chaos “cannot be a world at peace.”

He acknowledged a temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C threshold was inevitable but insisted it was not irreversible.

He urged faster emissions cuts, a just transition from fossil fuels and increased climate finance.

Guterres also called for reform of global institutions, including financial bodies and the Security Council.

“1945 problem-solving will not solve 2026 problems,” he warned, saying outdated structures risk losing legitimacy.