United Nations — the United Nations The president on Thursday criticized countries that violate international law and called Concentration of power and wealth by the richest 1% in the world is “morally indefensible”.
At the beginning of his final year at the helm of the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres She told the UN General Assembly that the 193 member states face “a world marked by self-destructive geopolitical divisions, brazen violations of international law, and wholesale reductions in development and humanitarian aid.”
Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on December 31, said that all these forces are shaking the foundations of global cooperation at a time when it is needed most.
“Some seek to place international cooperation on death watch,” the Secretary-General said. “I can assure you: we will not give up.”
Guterres has repeated this over and over again He criticized Russia for violating the United Nations Charterwhich requires that every country respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, by invading Ukraine in February 2022. He also criticized the United States for its military operation in Venezuela to destroy it. President Nicolas Maduro is arrested And for her Deadly attacks on boats In the Caribbean and Pacific region, which the United States says carries drugs.
“When leaders ignore international law – when they pick and choose which rules to follow – they not only undermine the global order, they set a dangerous precedent,” Guterres said.
The UN Secretary-General said that people around the world are witnessing the erosion of international law and the consequences of impunity. He cited “the unlawful use of force and the threat of force; attacks on civilians, humanitarian workers and UN staff; unconstitutional changes of government; the crushing of human rights; the silencing of dissent; and the plundering of resources.”
He also criticized countries that do not pay their dues to the UN on time – another blow to the Trump administration, which has not paid its mandatory dues to UN budgets in 2025.
Guterres warned of the dangers of the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the richest 1% in the world, who own 43% of global financial assets.
“Increasingly, we see a world where the richest people and the companies they control are calling the shots like never before — and exercising enormous influence over economies, information and even the rules that govern us all,” he said.