UN chief warns of a world in chaos as impunity and unpredictability spreads

Speaking in the General Assembly, he said the global system was under unprecedented strain from wars, division, climate breakdown and the erosion of respect for international law.

He framed the speech as both a diagnosis of the current global disorder and a personal commitment to press for change during his final year in office.

‘The context is chaos’

“The context is chaos,” Mr. Guterres told delegates. “We are a world brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability.”

Rather than presenting a checklist of initiatives, he said he wanted to look beyond the coming year and focus on the “larger forces and megatrends shaping our world,” identifying three principles that must guide the work of the United Nations and its Member States.

At a time when geopolitical divisions are widening amid cuts to development and humanitarian funding, Mr. Guterres said multilateralism itself was being tested.

“That is the paradox of our era: at a time when we need international cooperation the most, we seem to be the least inclined to use it and invest in it,” he said, adding: “Some seek to put international cooperation on deathwatch. I can assure you: we will not give up.”

Peace is more than the absence of war

The UN chief highlighted ongoing UN engagement on conflicts from Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan and Yemen, while stressing that silencing the guns alone would not be enough.

“Peace is more than the absence of war,” he said, arguing that poverty, lack of development, inequality and weak institutions continue to fuel violence. “Sustainable peace requires sustainable development.”

Mr. Guterres was blunt about what he described as the visible erosion of international law. “The erosion of international law is not happening in the shadows. It is unfolding before the eyes of the world, on our screens, live in 4K,” he said.

He pointed to attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, unconstitutional changes of government, silencing of dissent, trampling of human rights, and plundering of resources.

He also raised alarm about the growing concentration of wealth and power, noting that the richest one per cent now hold 43 per cent of global financial assets. “This level of concentration is morally indefensible,” he said.

Keep control of technology

Mr. Guterres also highlighted the challenges of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, cautioning that algorithms shaping public life must not be controlled by just a handful of companies. “We must ensure humanity steers technology, not the other way around,” he said.

Turning to climate change, the Secretary-General warned that a world in climate chaos “cannot be a world at peace,” stressing that while a temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C temperature threshold was now inevitable, it was not irreversible.

He urged faster emissions cuts, a just transition away from fossil fuels and scaled-up climate finance.

Mr. Guterres also underscored the need for reform of global institutions, including international financial bodies and the Security Council, arguing that “1945 problem-solving will not solve 2026 problems.”

Structures that fail to reflect today’s world, he warned, would lose legitimacy.

A personal note

In his address, the Secretary-General also struck a personal note, reminding delegates that this would be his last annual priorities address.

“Let me assure you that I will make every day of 2026 count,” he said. “I am fully committed and fully determined to keep working, to keep fighting, and to keep pushing for the better world that we know is possible.”

Mr. Guterres took office in January 2017, succeeding Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea, at a moment of relative optimism for multilateralism, shortly after world leaders had agreed the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the SDGs) – which succeeded the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).