UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday that multilateralism is under fire at a time when the world needs it most.
"Our world is suffering from a bad case of trust deficit disorder," Guterres told world leaders attending this year's high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly. "And multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most."
Trust is at a breaking point -- trust in national institutions, trust among states, trust in the rules-based global order, he said. "Within countries, people are losing faith in political establishments, polarization is on the rise and populism is on the march."
Among countries, cooperation is less certain and more difficult. And divisions in the Security Council are stark. Trust in global governance is also fragile, as 21st-century challenges outpace 20th-century institutions and mindsets, said the UN chief.
"We have never had a true system of global governance, and much less a fully democratic one," said Guterres in his "state-of-the-world" speech that precedes those of world leaders at the General Debate.
Individual leaders have the duty to advance the well-being of their people. But it runs deeper. Together, as guardians of the common good, leaders also have a duty to promote and support a reformed, reinvigorated and strengthened multilateral system, he said.
"We need commitments to a rules-based order, with the United Nations at its center and with the different institutions and treaties that bring the (UN) Charter to life. And we need to show the added value of international cooperation by delivering peace, defending human rights and driving economic and social progress for women and men everywhere."
In the face of massive, existential threats to people and the planet, there is no way forward but collective, common-sense action for the common good, he said. "This is how we can rebuild trust."
