HAMILTON, Canada 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that growing impunity, geopolitical divisions, and the erosion of multilateral institutions are destabilizing the international system.

"We are living in a world where actions – especially reckless ones – are provoking dangerous reactions," Guterres said during his last traditional start-of-the-year news conference at UN headquarters in New York, adding that they are "being multiplied by geopolitical divisions and magnified by an epidemic of impunity."

Saying that "the law of power is prevailing over the power of law," he stressed: "International law is trampled. Cooperation is eroding. And multilateral institutions are under assault on many fronts."

Guterres cautioned that when violations go unanswered, global stability is undermined.

"When perilous actions do not meet the adequate reaction, the system destabilizes," he said.

Highlighting the human cost, he warned: "Impunity is driving today’s conflicts, fueling escalation, widening mistrust, and kicking the doors open for powerful spoilers to enter from every direction."

He also pointed to aid cuts, saying: "The slashing of humanitarian aid is generating its own chain reactions of despair, displacement, and death."

Addressing climate change and technology, Guterres said: "Every action that heats the planet triggers a ferocious reaction -- storms, wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, rising seas," and warned that unregulated technologies lead to "instability."

On global governance, he said that "global problems will not be solved by one power calling the shots," nor by "two powers carving the world into rival spheres of influence."

Guterres called for inclusive multipolarity but warned that it must be anchored in strong institutions, saying peace requires "strong multilateral institutions where legitimacy is rooted in shared responsibility and shared values."

When asked who he referred to by "one power" or the "two powers" in his speech, Guterres said: "It is clear that the most powerful of the countries in the world is the United States."

"The idea that there are two poles, one centered in the US and one centered in China, that's the second reference I made. And my point is, if we want a stable world, if you want a world in which peace can be sustained, in which development can be generalized, and in which, in the end, our values will prevail, we need to support multipolarity," he said.