UN chief: World is 'paralyzed' and equity is slipping away

U.N.General Assembly, New York, USA. [AP photo]

"Let's work as one, as a coalition of the world, as united nations," he urged leaders gathered in the vast General Assembly hall.

It's rarely that easy. Geopolitical divisions are undermining the work of the U.N. Security Council, international law, people's trust in democratic institutions and most forms of international cooperation, Guterres said.

"The divergence between developed and developing countries, between North and South, between the privileged and the rest, is becoming more dangerous by the day," the secretary-general said. "It 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.

Before the global meeting was gaveled open, leaders and ministers wearing masks to avoid a COVID-19 super-spreader event wandered the assembly hall, chatting individually and in groups. It was a sign that that despite the fragmented state of the planet, the United Nations remains the key gathering place for presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and ministers.

Nearly 150 heads of state and government are on the latest speakers' list, a high number reflecting that the United Nations remains the only place not just to deliver their views but to meet privately to discuss the challenges on the global agenda - and hopefully make some progress.

The 77th General Assembly meeting of world leaders convenes under the shadow of Europe's first major war since World War II - the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has unleashed a global food crisis and opened fissures among major powers in a way not seen since the Cold War.

At the top of that agenda for many: Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which not only threatens the sovereignty of its smaller neighbor but has raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe at Europe's largest nuclear plant in the country's now Russia-occupied southeast.

Leaders in many countries are trying to prevent a wider war and restore peace in Europe. Diplomats, though, aren't expecting any breakthroughs this week.

The loss of important grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia has triggered a food crisis, especially in developing countries, and inflation and a rising cost of living in many others. Those issues are high on the agenda.

At a meeting Monday to promote U.N. goals for 2030 - including ending extreme poverty, ensuring quality education for all children and achieving gender equality - Guterres said the world's many pressing perils make it "tempting to put our long-term development priorities to one side."

U.N. headquarters in New York. [AP photo]

But the U.N. chief said some things can't wait - among them education, dignified jobs, full equality for women and girls, comprehensive health care and action to tackle the climate crisis. He called for public and private finance and investment, and above all for peace.

The death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her funeral in London on Monday, which many world leaders attended, have created last-minute headaches for the high-level meeting. Diplomats and U.N. staff have scrambled to deal with changes in travel plans, the timing of events and the logistically intricate speaking schedule for world leaders.

The global gathering, known as the General Debate, was entirely virtual in 2020 because of the pandemic, and hybrid in 2021. This year, the 193-member General Assembly returns to only in-person speeches, with a single exception - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Over objections from Russia and a few allies, the assembly voted last Friday to allow the Ukrainian leader to prerecord his speech because of reasons beyond his control - the "ongoing foreign invasion" and military hostilities that require him to carry out his "national defense and security duties."

The U.S. president, representing the host country for the United Nations, is traditionally the second speaker. But Joe Biden is attending the queen's funeral, and his speech has been pushed to Wednesday morning.