A few days ago, Secretary General António Guterres addressed the National Assembly of the United Nations as members began their 77^th session. Mr. Guterres outlined many global challenges and complained about dysfunction at the United Nations. His message was blunt. He called on world leaders to set aside their differences and take action for the sake of humanity.

Mr. Guterres became Secretary General in January 2017, and was reelected for a second five-year term, which began in January 2022. Prior to his appointment, he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

Principles of the United Nations

Peace, human rights, dignity for all, equality, justice and solidarity. Those are the principles of the United Nations that members are supposed to adhere to. A far cry from what we see in many parts of the world. As stated on its website, the United Nations “is still working to maintain international peace and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold international law.”¹ A noble purpose that remains very much a work in progress after more than 75 years of meetings, speeches and condemnations. An optimist might say the glass is half full, a pessimist will say that it is half empty. But how does Mr. Guterres describe it?

Messages from the Secretary General

Based on comments from Mr. Guterres, the glass is broken. “Our world is in big trouble. Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. Challenges are spreading farther. We need hope… and more. We need action” stated Mr. Guterres in his address to the National Assembly.² Last year, he had a similar message: “I am here to sound the alarm. The world must wake up. We are on the edge of an abyss – and moving in the wrong direction. Our world has never been more threatened. Or more divided. We face the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetimes,” said Mr. Guterres.³

This year, Mr. Guterres went further and openly criticized the National Assembly. “The United Nations Charter and the ideals it represents are in jeopardy. We have a duty to act. And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction. The international community is not ready or willing to tackle the big dramatic challenges of our age. These crises threaten the very future of humanity and the fate of our planet. Crises like the war in Ukraine and the multiplication of conflicts around the globe. Crises like the climate emergency and biodiversity loss. Crises like the dire financial situation of developing countries and the fate of the Sustainable Development Goals. And crises like the lack of guardrails around promising new technologies. We cannot go on like this. At one stage, international relations seemed to be moving toward a G-2 world; now we risk ending up with G-nothing. No cooperation. No dialogue. No collective problem solving. But the reality is that we live in a world where the logic of cooperation and dialogue is the only path forward” said Mr. Guterres.⁴

These comments are shocking and may seem exaggerated. However, Mr. Guterres outlines major and compelling issues that support his claims. Most people know about the issues he puts forward. But they are often forgotten while everyone goes about their daily lives. The role of the Secretary General is to remind United Nations members and world leaders of pressing global problems, and to influence their agenda for discussion and problem solving. According to the United Nations website, “the Secretary-General is a symbol of United Nations ideals and a spokesperson for the interests of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable among them.”⁵

Global Divides that Threaten Stability

According to Mr. Guterres, “the divergence between developed and developing countries is at the root of the geopolitical tensions and lack of trust that poison every area of global cooperation, from vaccines to sanctions to trade.”⁶ Last year, Mr. Guterres outlined six global divides that need to be bridged.⁷ This year, he affirms that these global divides are widening.

• THE PEACE DIVIDE – Peace and stability remain a distant dream for many people across the world, including in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Myanmar, Sahel, Yemen, Libya and Syria. In many countries, ethnic and religious violence are common occurrences. In others, misinformation, oppression, repression, corruption, drug wars and terrorism are prevalent. Injustices, brutality, theft, armed conflicts and crimes against humanity take place. Geopolitical conflicts are causing divisions among nations, while innocent civilians suffer in silence. A sense of impunity is taking hold among competing blocks, with escalating consequences.⁸

• THE CLIMATE DIVIDE – Members of the G20 group of countries emit eighty percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.⁹ “But the poorest and most vulnerable – those who contributed least to this crisis – are bearing its most brutal impacts. Global greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed by 45 percent by 2030 to have any hope of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. And yet emissions are going up at record levels – on course to a 14 percent increase this decade. We have a rendezvous with climate disaster. The climate crisis is a case study in moral and economic injustice” says Mr. Guterres.¹⁰

• THE WEALTH DIVIDE – Close to a billion people live in extreme poverty. Four billion earn less than $10 a day. A third of the world population does not have access to safe drinking water. More than 800 million have limited access to food, 150 million suffer from malnutrition, and 35 million risk dying from hunger.¹¹ Less than 25 percent of people in low-income countries received a first vaccination dose for Covid-19,¹² while millions of expired doses were thrown out elsewhere. Poor countries face growing health issues, soaring food and energy prices, crushing debt burdens and spiraling inflation. As stated by Mr. Guterres, “even the most fundamental goals – on poverty, hunger and education – are going into reverse. More people are poor. More people are hungry. More people are being denied health care and education.”¹³

• THE GENDER DIVIDE – It is estimated that 650 million women worldwide were married before 18 years of age¹⁴ in most cases likely against their will. Women are 35 percent more likely to live in poverty than men. The World Bank estimates that “2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunity. In 86 countries, women face some form of job restriction and 95 countries do not guarantee equal pay for equal work.”¹⁵ “Bridging the gender divide is not only a matter of justice for women and girls. It’s a game-changer for humanity. Societies with more equal representation are more stable and peaceful. They have better health systems and more vibrant economies. We need to push back against regressive laws that institutionalize gender discrimination. Women’s rights are human rights. And we need an emergency plan to fight gender-based violence in every country” says Mr. Guterres.¹⁶

• THE DIGITAL DIVIDE – According to the World Economic Forum, almost half of the world population does not have access to the Internet.¹⁷ The digital divide widens the education gap and creates economic barriers. In countries where human rights are not respected, the Internet and information are controlled by governments to disinform, prevent freedom of speech, and punish dissent. In other countries, personal data is collected and used commercially, often without informed consent. As stated by Mr. Guterres, “governments and others can exploit [data] to control or manipulate people’s behavior, violating human rights of individuals or groups, and undermining democracy. This is not science fiction. This is today’s reality.”¹⁸

• THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE – Young people need hope. Many have high levels of anxiety and stress. Sixty percent feel betrayed by their governments.¹⁹ Access to quality and affordable education is limited in many parts of the world. The cost of living continues to rise putting young adults in precarious positions as they get started. More than eighty percent of people aged 15 to 24 live in developing countries. Over 600 million are not in education, employment or training, and 75 million are trained but do not have a job. Young adults are three times more likely to be unemployed than older generations.²⁰  “We must prove to children and young people that despite the seriousness of the situation [that we live in], the world has a plan – and governments are committed to implementing it” says Mr. Guterres.²¹

The Great Institutional Divide

The comments of the Secretary General of the United Nations are very disturbing. Many would rather not hear them, let alone have to deal with them. The devious choose to ignore them for their own benefit. Unfortunately, deaf ears, complacency, hypocrisy and deceitful behavior are common among United Nations members and world leaders. Despots place their selfish political and economic interests ahead of the United Nations principles of peace, human rights, dignity for all, equality, justice and solidarity. Principles that all member countries have supposedly committed to.

It is an open secret that the United Nations have always been divided. The global divides outlined by Mr. Guterres are fallouts of a greater institutional divide. But do not blame the institution. It has a noble purpose of “peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet.”²² Assign blame to the not so few uncaring and deceiving members and world leaders who attend United Nations meetings and speak to its assembly, while betraying the ideals that it stands for. Mr. Guterres cares very deeply about United Nations principles. He is authentic. Our world desperately needs more leaders like him.

Watch the full address of the Secretary General on this video:

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¹ History of the United Nations (www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un, 09/30/2022).
² António Guterres, Secretary General’s Address to the National Assembly, (2022).
³ António Guterres, Secretary-General’s Address to the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, (2021).
⁴ António Guterres, Secretary General’s Address to the National Assembly, (2022).
⁵ The Role of the Secretary-General (www.un.org/sg/en/content/the-role-of-the-secretary-general, 09/30/2022).
⁶ António Guterres, Secretary General’s Address to the National Assembly, (2022).
⁷ António Guterres, Secretary-General’s Address to the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, (2021).
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ António Guterres, Secretary General’s Address to the National Assembly, (2022).
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Gulsum Incekaya, 35M people dying from hunger worldwide: UN official (Anadolu Agency, 2021).
¹² Our World In Data, Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations (https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations, 09/30/2022).
¹³ António Guterres, Secretary General’s Address to the National Assembly, (2022).
¹⁴ WorldVision, Child marriage: Facts and how to help (www.worldvision.ca/stories/gender-equality/child-marriage-facts-and-how-to-help, 09/30/2022).
¹⁵ The World Bank, Nearly 2.4 Billion Women Globally Don’t Have Same Economic Rights as Men (www.worldbank.org/en
/news/press-release/2022/03/01/nearly-2-4-billion-women-globally-don-t-have-same-economic-rights-as-men).
¹⁶ António Guterres, Secretary-General’s Address to the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, (2021).
¹⁷ World Economic Forum, Coronavirus has exposed the digital divide like never before (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/
2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-digital-divide-internet-data-broadband-mobbile/).
¹⁸ António Guterres, Secretary-General’s Address to the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, (2021).
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Plan International, Youth Unemployment: The Facts (https://gdc.unicef.org/resource/youth-unemployment-facts, 2020).
²¹ António Guterres, Secretary-General’s Address to the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, (2021).
²² United Nations, (https://www.un.org/en, 09/30/2022).