UN chief Antonio Guterres urges world leaders to promote global co-operation

UN General Assembly 2018: Secretary General said states to do away with unilateralism

Mr Guterres referenced rising populism and wars across the world as he painted a grim picture of the state of the world. EPA

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told world leaders that multilateralism was “under fire precisely when we need it most” in his opening address to UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

He told representatives attending the mostly full General Assembly hall that trust in international institutions “is at a breaking point”, just minutes before US President Donald Trump took the stage for his second UN speech and railed against the very multilateral bodies Mr Guterres was defending.

Under Mr Trump’s administration, Washington has pulled much of its funding for the UN, reducing the global body’s budget by 5 per cent next year. Mr Trump championed that his administration has the right to defend its sovereignty outside of multilateral commitments, such as recognition of the International Criminal Court.

The UN chief painted a grim picture of the state of the world, pointed to rising polarisation and populism, ebbing cooperation, and "outrage" at the inability to end wars in Syria and elsewhere.

“Individual leaders have the duty to advance the well-being of their people,” Mr Guterres said.

“But it runs deeper. Together, as guardians of the common good, we also have a duty to promote and support a reformed, reinvigorated and strengthened multilateral system.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) meets with Jordan's King Abdullah ll Al Hussein (R) on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, at the United Nations Headquarters. EPA

People move along rain soaked walkways at the United Nations headquarters during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. AP Photo

Delegates listen to French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) as he adresses the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron adresses the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters on September 25, 2018, in New York. AFP

US President Donald Trump addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations. EPA

Members of the media inside the UN watch a television broadcasting US President Donald Trump's address General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he waits to be introduced to address the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations. EPA

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations. EPA

Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations. EPA

Mauricio Macri, Argentina's president, pauses while speaking during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, US. Macri said Argentina will bring case of crimes against humanity by the "Venezuelan dictatorship" to the International Criminal Court. Bloomberg

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte speaks with members of the news media during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters. AP

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters in New York. EPA

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra Cornejo addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

President Jimmy Morales addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra Cornejo addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

US President Donald Trump (L) sits next to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, right, as he speaks at the delegate luncheon on the sidelines of the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Lenin Moreno, Ecuador's president, speaks during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, US. Moreno called for a "frank and inclusive national dialog" to resolve the Venezuela crisis and urged other Latin American nations to help Venezuelan migrants. Bloomberg

Michel Temer, Brazil's president, sits during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, US. Temer said that isolationism, intolerance and unilateralism are challenges to the integrity of the international order. Bloomberg

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), speaks during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. President Donald Trump will take aim at Iran over its nuclear program and ambitions in the Middle East in his second address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Bloomberg

United Nations general Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces speaks during the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN headquarters. AP

Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee speaks during the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

French UNESCO general manager Audrey Azoulay, right, meets with girls during the "Education for Girl" meeting at the UN headquarter. AFP

Rwanda Foreign Affairs Minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, who is running for Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). AFP

US President Donald Trump (R) greets Prime Minister of Montenegro Dusko Markovic (C) at the delegate luncheon on the sidelines of the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres (2R) greets Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (L) Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl (2L) and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (R) on the sidelines of the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Colombian President Ivan Duque meets with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. AFP

Swiss president Alain Berset speaks to the media on a hallway inside the UN on the sidelines of the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic takes a selfie at the delegate luncheon on the sidelines of the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte addresses a high level event regarding peacekeepers and peacekeeping during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters. AP

President of EAT Foundation Gunhild Stordalen (L) speaks with Director of Policy at EAT Sudhvir Singh (R) during the EAT Food System Dialogue event on a side of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

(L-R) US Vice President Mike Pence, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (obscured), US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in their seats before US President Donald Trump addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters. EPA

He called for a renewed commitment to a rules-based order with the United Nations at its center and warned against a spreading of "politics of pessimism".

In his speech to the world leaders in attendance, he harked back to Europe a century ago during the First World War and the emergence of a unity of nations to address global conflict.

He struck a much more sombre tone when he began talking about the disintegration of the global order in an “increasingly chaotic” world, where shifts could increase the potential for conflict.

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He made references to war in Syria and Yemen, the Rohingya crisis and the transfer of refugee status for the Palestinian people.

“There is outrage at our inability to end the wars in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, the Rohingya people remain exiled, traumatised and in misery, still yearning for safety and justice,” he said. “Palestinians and Israelis are still locked in endless conflict, with the two-state solution more and more distant”.

The Secretary General has called upon countries to develop methodologies and commit to providing resources to deal with an increasingly displaced world.

He said member states must band together to avoid the humanitarian toll in those countries and to help remedy the violence that has taken place.

The UN chief also highlighted the need for member states to take climate action and to reinforce environment policy in their countries.

“Let’s touch upon a direct, existential threat. We have reached a pivotal moment, if we do not change course, we risk climate change, because it’s running faster than we are,” he said.

The UN heralded a victory in 2015 after the signing of the COP21 agreement in Paris, where 196 countries sealed a legally-binding agreement to reduce global warming to less than 2 degrees celsius by 2050.

However, countries have fallen short of their individually set targets to reduce their carbon emissions, creating a dire situation whereby climate change is slipping beyond the global community’s control.

“We as a community of world leaders are not doing enough, we must listen to the world’s best scientists, see what’s in front of our eyes, and we need greater ambition and sense of urgency,” he said.

According to the World Meteorological record, the past two decades have included 18 of the warmest years on record since record keeping began in 1850.

The Secretary General announced that he will hold a climate action summit next September to focus on climate action, just one year before the countries who signed up to the Paris Agreement are expected to further commit themselves to global warming mitigation.

“Only a higher level of ambition will do, we must act without delay, the world needs you to be climate champions,” he said in the closing statements of his speech.