UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the world is in big trouble and needs collective action across the board.
"Our world is in big trouble. Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. And challenges are spreading farther," Guterres said while addressing the UN General Assembly before the opening of the General Debate.
"We need action across the board," he said.
At the same time, he warned that the international community is gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction, saying it is "not ready or willing to tackle the big dramatic challenges of our age."
He said crises like the conflict in Ukraine, climate emergency and biodiversity loss, and the dire financial situation of developing countries threaten the very future of humanity and the fate of the planet.
Progress on all these issues and more is being held hostage to geopolitical tensions, he added. "Geopolitical divides are undermining the work of the Security Council, undermining international law, undermining trust and people's faith in democratic institutions, undermining all forms of international cooperation."
"We cannot go on like this," he said. ■
