UN chief says global problems will not be solved by one power ‘calling the shots’

Global problems will not be solved by one power “calling the shots", United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, warning that international law was being trampled and global cooperation was eroding.

While Guterres did not name any specific country, his remarks come a week after United States President Donald Trump launched his Board of Peace, initially aimed at cementing a fragile Gaza ceasefire but which Trump has said could take on a broader role — an approach that has raised concerns among some global powers.

“Global problems will not be solved by one power calling the shots. Nor will they be solved by two powers carving the world into rival spheres of influence,” Guterres told a news conference marking the start of his 10th and final year in office.

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Trump, who began his second term a year ago, has revived what many in the international community long viewed as an outdated concept of global politics based on spheres of influence dominated by major powers. He has vowed to restore US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

Multilateralism ‘under assault’

Guterres’ second five-year term has been shaped by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, conflict in Sudan, the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, a rapid end to Syria’s civil war and the US capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

“International law is trampled. Cooperation is eroding. And multilateral institutions are under assault on many fronts,” Guterres said.

“Impunity is driving today’s conflicts — fuelling escalation, widening mistrust, and kicking the doors open for powerful spoilers to enter from every direction.”

Guterres spoke as the UN grapples with a cash crisis after its largest contributor, the US, cut voluntary funding to UN agencies and declined to make mandatory payments to the organisation’s regular and peacekeeping budgets.

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In response, Guterres launched a reform task force in March known as UN80, aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency.

Trump has said the UN has “great potential” but is failing to fulfil it, criticising the body for not backing US-led peace initiatives.

“Despite all the hurdles, the United Nations is acting to give life to our shared values,” Guterres said.

“And we won’t give up. We are pushing for peace — just and sustainable peace rooted in international law. Peace that addresses root causes. Peace that endures beyond the signing of an agreement.”

Guterres also warned of growing instability linked to technological change, saying governance of artificial intelligence was a priority.

“We are witnessing perhaps the greatest transfer of power of our times — not from governments to people, but from governments to private technology companies,” he said.

“When technologies that shape behaviour, elections, markets and even conflicts operate without guardrails, the reaction is not innovation — it is instability.”