VIDEO: UN chief Guterres warns global family is 'dysfunctional'

Gulf Today Report

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday, speaking before the G20 leaders' summit,” The world faces the risks of conflict as divisions between countries widen.”

"If we are indeed one global family — we today resemble a rather dysfunctional one", Guterres told reporters in New Delhi.

He added: “Divisions are increasing, tensions are flaring, trust is eroding, and all of this threatens fragmentation and eventual confrontation.”

The G20 currently consists of 19 countries and the European Union, and constitutes about 85% of the global GDP and includes two-thirds of the world's population.

But deep differences over Russia's war in Ukraine and how to help emerging countries confront climate change are expected to derail an agreement during the two-day meeting in New Delhi.

Guterres said: “Such a division would be very disturbing at the best of times, but in our time it portends disaster.”

Our world is going through a difficult transitional moment.

The future is multipolar, but our multilateral institutions reflect a bygone era.

He added: “The global financial structure is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair. “It requires deep structural reform, and we can say the same about the UN Security Council.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be absent from the G20 meeting at a time of escalating trade and geopolitical tensions with the United States and India, which shares a long and disputed border with China.

Diplomatic isolation and accusations of war crimes have also kept Russian President Vladimir Putin away from attending, although Moscow continues to pressure its allies to mitigate international condemnation of its war on Ukraine.