World order is in chaos and trust between countries is at breaking point, declares UN secretary general in stark warning that risk of wars will increase
Antonio Guterres addressed opening session General Assembly in New York
He said: ‘World order is increasingly chaotic. Power relations are less clear’
‘Universal values are being eroded. Democratic principles are under siege’
DAILYMAIL.COM
25 September 2018
The world order is in chaos and trust between countries is at breaking point, the UN secretary general declared today.
Addressing the opening session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Antonio Guterres said trust in the rules-based global order and among states was ‘at a breaking point’ and international cooperation was becoming more difficult.
‘Today, world order is increasingly chaotic. Power relations are less clear,’ Guterres told the 193-nation assembly just minutes before President Donald Trump was to take the podium.
‘Universal values are being eroded. Democratic principles are under siege.’
Guterres did not single out a country for criticism, but there are fears among UN diplomats that the world is being carved up into spheres of influence and a return to great power rivalry.
Trump’s administration has made clear its distrust of international treaties, having scrapped the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate agreement and cut funding to the United Nations.
UN diplomats say the US stance has emboldened Russia and China to push their view of the global order in which human rights take a second seat to development and sovereignty rights.
‘Today, with shifts in the balance of power, the risk of confrontation may increase,’ warned Guterres.
The human rights agenda is losing ground and ‘authoritarianism is on the rise,’ he said
Guterres urged world leaders to renew their commitment to a rules-based order, with the United Nations at its center to confront ‘massive, existential threats to people and planet.’
‘There is no way forward but collective, common-sense action for the common good,’ he said.
Drawing a list of global problems, Guterres acknowledged that peace efforts were failing and that respect for international humanitarian norms was unraveling.
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