Multilateralism is under fire when world needs it most: Guterres

United Nations:UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that multilateralism is under fire at a time when the world needs it most.
“Our world is suffering from a bad case of ‘trust deficit disorder’,” Guterres told world leaders attending this year’s high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly. “And multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most.”
Trust is at a breaking point — trust in national institutions, trust among states, trust in the rules-based global order, he said. “Within countries, people are losing faith in political establishments, polarization is on the rise and populism is on the march,” Xinhua reported.
Among countries, cooperation is less certain and more difficult. And divisions in the Security Council are stark. Trust in global governance is also fragile, as 21st-century challenges outpace 20th-century institutions and mindsets, said the UN chief.
“We have never had a true system of global governance, and much less a fully democratic one,” said Guterres in his “state-of-the-world” speech that preceded those of world leaders at the General Debate.
“Still, across many decades, we established solid foundations for international cooperation. We came together as united nations to build institutions, norms and rules to advance our shared interests. We raised standards of living for millions. We forged peace in troubled lands and, indeed, we avoided a third world war. But none of this can be taken for granted.”
The world is becoming multipolar. But multipolarity will not, in itself, guarantee peace or solve global problems, he warned.
A century ago, Europe was multipolar. A balance of power was deemed sufficient to keep rivals in check. It was not. Without strong multilateral frameworks for Europe-wide cooperation and problem-solving, the result was a grievous world war.
Today, with shifts in the balance of power, the risk of confrontation may increase, warned Guterres.
But conflict is never inevitable, he said. “Indeed, with leadership committed to strategic cooperation and to managing competing interests, we can avoid war and steer the world onto a safer path.”
Today, the world order is increasingly chaotic. Power relations are less clear. Universal values are being eroded. Democratic principles are under siege, and the rule of law is being undermined. Impunity is on the rise, as leaders and states push the boundaries, both at home and in the international arena, he said.
The threat of terror looms, fed by the root causes of radicalization and violent extremism. And terrorism is ever more interlinked with international organised crime and the trafficking of people, drugs, arms and corruption, he said.
The nuclear peril has not eased, with non-proliferation at serious risk. Nuclear-armed states are modernizing their arsenals. A new arms race could be triggered, and the threshold for their use lowered, said the UN chief.
“We have seen outrageous uses of chemical weapons, in full impunity despite their ban, and protections against dangerous biological weapons are weak.”
He said that inequality is undermining faith in the social contract and is a clear obstacle to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.