(VOVworld) – The UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned of threats and challenges facing the world in his opening speech to the 71st UN General Assembly.

The UN chief Ban Ki-moon delivers opening speech to the 71st UN General Assembly (Source: VNA)

He said gulfs of mistrust divide citizens from their leaders. Extremists push people into camps of “us” and “them.”  The Earth assails people with rising seas, record heat and extreme storms.

At UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, before leaders and foreign ministers of 193 UN member countries, Ban Ki-moon said that armed conflicts have grown more protracted and complex, while violent extremists are threatening social cohesion. He said the Syrian war has caused the most casualties and the most instability of the world’s current conflicts. The Secretary General called on all parties to stop fighting and start negotiating. He expressed deep concern over the unresolved Middle-East conflict and called North Korea’s fifth nuclear test a serious threat to world peace and stability. He urged North Korea to change its behaviors and honor its obligations to the international community. He also pointed out that violence in Ukraine is creating chaos in the Ukraine, and greater tensions in Europe.