New York, United States. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that global problems will not be solved by one power “calling the shots” or by dividing the world into rival spheres, in remarks directed at the United States and China.
Comments as final year begins
Guterres spoke to reporters to mark the start of his 10th and final year in office. The U.N. Security Council will choose his successor later this year.
“Global problems will not be solved by one power calling the shots,” Guterres said, later adding it was a reference to the United States. “Nor will they be solved by two powers carving the world into rival spheres of influence.”
Asked to clarify, he said many see an idea of two poles, one centered in the U.S. and one centered in China, and said that to achieve a stable world in which peace can be sustained, development generalized and values prevail, it is necessary to support multipolarity.
The U.S. and Chinese missions to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump and spheres of influence
U.S. President Donald Trump, who began his second term a year ago, has promoted what much of the international community had long spurned as an outdated worldview of spheres of influence carved out by big powers. Trump has vowed to restore U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
Responsibility for peace and security
Guterres’ remarks came a week after Trump launched his Board of Peace, initially designed to cement Gaza’s rocky ceasefire, but which Trump foresees taking a wider role, an approach that worries some global powers.
“In my opinion, the basic responsibility for international peace and security lies with the U.N., lies with the Security Council,” Guterres said. He said this was why reforming the Security Council is important, and said it was “very interesting” that some who criticize the U.N. for not being effective oppose Security Council reform, which he said is why the U.N. can sometimes not be as effective as desired.
Conflicts during second term
Guterres’ second five-year term has been marked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the conflict in Sudan, the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a rapid end to Syria’s civil war and the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
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