2024-02-07T18:12:22+00:00
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/ The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, warned on Wednesday that the world has entered an “era of dangerous chaos,” pointing to “unprecedented” divisions in the UN Security Council, which is unable to act in the face of the ongoing “horrific conflicts,” while indicating that any “possible” Israeli ground attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza “will increase the” humanitarian nightmare.”
“This is not the first time the Council has been divided, but it is the worst. The current imbalance is deeper and more dangerous,” he told the UN General Assembly.
As the war in Gaza enters its fifth month, Guterres warned that any potential Israeli ground attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah would “dramatically exacerbate what is already a humanitarian nightmare, with incalculable regional repercussions,” renewing his call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and the release of all hostages.
Israel, which vowed to “eliminate” Hamas after the October 7 attack, has been relentlessly bombing the Gaza Strip and carrying out a ground operation that has forced more than a million people to flee to the south of the Strip.
Call for Change
In his speech to the UN General Assembly outlining his priorities for 2024, Guterres called for changes to the Security Council and the international financial system, among other reforms, stressing that the upcoming “Summit on the Future” in September would be an important opportunity to address the imbalance that is “deeper and more dangerous” than ever before.
impasse
“The UN Security Council (the premier platform for global peace issues) has reached a dead end as a result of geopolitical divisions,” he said.
“This is not the first time the council has been divided, but it is the worst. The current imbalance is deeper and more dangerous,” he added.
He also noted that unlike during the Cold War, when “established mechanisms helped manage relations between great powers,” these mechanisms are absent “in today’s multipolar world.”
He warned that “our world is entering an era of chaos” that he described as “dangerous and unpredictable.”
His comments come amid devastating conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza and elsewhere, with millions displaced by fighting and in need of aid.