NEW YORK — UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lashed out at world leaders on Thursday who he accused of turning their backs on international cooperation amid “self-defeating geopolitical divides” and “brazen violations of international law”.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, the UN secretary-general slammed “wholesale cuts in development and humanitarian aid”, warning that they were “shaking the foundations of global cooperation and testing the resilience of multilateralism itself”.

The secretary-general, who will step down at the end of 2026, held off naming offending countries, but appeared to refer to deep cuts to the budgets of UN agencies made by the United States under the “America First” policies of US President Donald Trump.

Guterres was giving his last annual speech setting out his priorities for the year ahead and said the world was riven with "self-defeating geopolitical divides (and) brazen violations of international law."

"These forces and more are shaking the foundations of global cooperation and testing the resilience of multilateralism itself," Guterres told the General Assembly.

"At a time when we need international cooperation the most, we seem to be the least inclined to use it and invest in it. Some seek to put international cooperation on deathwatch."

Guterres said the UN is "totally committed in the cause of peace in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and far beyond and tireless in delivering life-saving aid to those so desperate for support."

Those three deadly, protracted conflicts have come to define Guterres' time at the helm of the UN, with critics arguing the organisation has proved ineffective at conflict prevention.

Trump has questioned the UN's relevance and attacked its priorities. The organisation's top decision-making body, the Security Council, is paralysed because of tensions between the United States and Russia and China, all three of which are permanent, veto-wielding members.

"As we meet today, the snares of conflict have trapped millions of members of the human family in miserable, prolonged cycles of violence, hunger and displacement," Guterres said.

On Gaza, the UN chief called for humanitarian aid to "flow unimpeded" and on Ukraine he said "we must spare no effort" to stop the fighting.

He also called for the resumption of talks to bring about a lasting ceasefire in Sudan.

Guterres also used his wide-ranging remarks to urge action against the abuse of artificial intelligence and to call for efforts to fight inequality.

He raised alarm about the growing concentration of wealth and power, noting that the richest one per cent now hold 43 percent of global financial assets. “This level of concentration is morally indefensible,” he said.

“We must ensure humanity steers technology, not the other way around,” he said.

Turning to climate change, the Secretary-General warned that a world in climate chaos “cannot be a world at peace,” stressing that while a temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C temperature threshold was now inevitable, it was not irreversible. — Agencies