Today, Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of 5 major challenges facing the world this year, describing them as a five-alarm global conflagration, speaking of the failure of the global governance system.

Guterres explained - at a special meeting of the members of the United Nations General Assembly (193 countries), held in New York - that the world is facing "a cauldron of political turmoil and fierce conflicts, and is facing a global conflagration of five warnings, which requires the full mobilization of all countries."

And the UN Secretary-General, while talking about his priorities for the current year, enumerated the five warnings as follows:

  • Corona virus pandemic.

  • global finance.

  • Facing climate change.

  • Lawlessness in cyberspace.

  • Peace and security.

The UN Secretary-General stressed that the world needs to enter into a state of emergency to address the “five-alarm fire,” and that the United Nations must be “strong and effective to meet these challenges,” adding that “our response to the five emergencies will determine the course of people and the planet for decades to come.”

Governance failure

Guterres insisted that the failure of the global governance system to meet the aforementioned challenges is due to the fact that the multilateral tools currently available have become outdated and insufficient, whether it is related to global health files or digital technology.

Regarding the Libyan file, the UN official said that the organization is working to promote dialogue, support the presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible, and push for the coordinated withdrawal of foreign fighters from Libya.

On the Syrian crisis, Guterres said, "We will move forward with the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254 issued in 2015" (which calls for an end to the targeting of civilians), stressing the importance of reconvening a credible constitutional committee led by Syria.

Regarding the Yemeni crisis, the UN Secretary-General stated that the United Nations is working to reach a permanent ceasefire, open the country's border crossings, and resume a comprehensive political process to end the catastrophic 7-year conflict.

In his speech, the Secretary-General of the United Nations touched on the situation in Afghanistan, pledging to provide a lifeline to help its people.