Outgoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a blunt warning this week, saying the world is caught in a dramatic geopolitical divide that has left the Security Council effectively paralyzed. He pointed directly at the superpowers themselves, noting that some have engaged in wars in violation of international law, and argued that this behavior has created a climate of impunity radiating far beyond them. Once the biggest players start ignoring the rules, he said, midsize powers start to believe they can act with the same disregard, confident that nothing will happen to them in return. The result, according to Guterres, is a world where conflicts are not just continuing but multiplying and growing more tangled by the day.

Guterres's remarks land as he prepares to leave office after years at the helm of an institution he openly describes as struggling to keep pace with a fractured world. He has repeatedly pointed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recent US strikes on Iran, both carried out by veto-wielding Security Council members, as prime examples of the impunity he is warning about. That breakdown, he argues, has left the UN with almost no real leverage to influence outcomes in the world's biggest conflicts, from Ukraine to the Middle East. His message is ultimately a call for reform, pushing world leaders to rebuild an international system that can still hold power accountable before more countries decide the rules simply no longer apply to them.