Determined: Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization 2023

"The past year was marked by increasingly complex crises for our world – poverty, inequality, hunger and rising unemployment; an uneven and uncertain global economic outlook; the escalating climate emergency; and conflicts, in particular the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. In every case, the poorest and most vulnerable people and communities are hit hardest.

Meanwhile, human rights are under assault, worsened by widening economic and social gaps and the lingering effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Women and young people continue to be shut out of economic, civic and social spaces, denying entire societies their contributions and ideas. Shrinking civic space, the rapid spread of mis- and disinformation and rising hate speech and misogyny are pushing people apart at a time when we need unity and solidarity more than ever.

We face the highest levels of geopolitical mistrust and competition in decades. Sharp divisions are growing within countries and across the global community. Countries and entire regions are turning their backs on one another, leaving the urgent and essential business of jointly shaping a better future to wither on the vine.

At the same time, humanity continues to grapple with balancing the great promise of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence and social media with the need to address clear threats to people’s rights to safety and privacy."

— UN Secretary General, António Guterres