UN Chief: World Heading into Wider War 

By Staff, Agencies 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that “The world is closer than ever to a global conflict.”

In a speech to the General assembly, Guterres stressed that |The global community is not sleepwalking” into a wider war but marches towards it with its eyes wide open.”

“The prospects for peace keep diminishing. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing,” Guterres said, denouncing the lack of “strategic vision” and “bias” that prevent political decision-makers from taking steps in the right direction.

“This near-term thinking is not only deeply irresponsible – it is immoral,” he argued, adding that politicians and entrepreneurs became too absorbed with clinging to power and their business cycles.

The UN secretary-general also blasted the erosion of international law and order based on UN principles, which, according to him, led to the present sorry state of affairs.

“If every country fulfilled its obligations under the [UN] Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed,” he noted, calling on UN members to “to transform our approach to peace by recommitting to the Charter – putting human rights and dignity first, with prevention at the heart.”

He further stated: “We need to wake up – and get to work”, adding that 2023 had placed humanity in front of a “confluence of challenges unlike any in our lifetimes.”

The UN chief also pointed to the fact that scientists have moved the symbolic “Doomsday clock,” which reflects the potential annihilation of humanity, to 90 seconds to midnight – the closest it has ever been to a possible Armageddon.