UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned world leaders on Tuesday of the risk of "a winter of global discontent" due to the multiple crises affecting humanity, from the war in Ukraine to the impacts of global warming.
"The purchasing power crisis is unleashed, trust is crumbling, inequalities are exploding, our planet is burning," and despite everything "we are blocked by a colossal global dysfunction," Guterres said at the opening of the annual summit of the United Nations General Assembly.
"These crises threaten the very future of humanity and the fate of the planet," he said. "Let us be under no illusions. We are in rough seas. A winter of global discontent looms on the horizon."
Despite these dangers, the international community is "paralysed," the Secretary General noted, pointing to "a threat of dangerous divisions between West and South."
"Geopolitical divisions undermine the work of the Security Council, undermine international law, undermine people's trust and faith in democratic institutions," Guterres said. "We can't go on like this."
