Sept. 22 (UPI) — The 81st United Nations General Assembly is underway in New York City on Tuesday and in his opening remarks, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of widening divisions across the globe.

Guterres, who is nearing the final 100 days of his term as secretary-general, opened the annual assembly by highlighting the four defining issues facing the world: war, inequality, climate change and AI. He said how leaders approach these issues will determine the path forward, either moving toward global cooperation or greater division.

“The fault lines in our world are widening. Cracks have become canyons,” Guterres said in his opening address. “Our future will be shaped by how we address four great tests of power. Across all four tests, the decisive issue is power.”

Guterres described the crises facing the world as a symptom of how power is expressed and who holds it, urging world leaders to “build” not “dominate.”

“The greatest power is not the power to dominate,” Guterres said. “It is the power to build a future that works for everyone.”

Fighting in the Middle East looms over the assembly, with Guterres describing cease-fires that had been reached and broken as merely “lesser fires.” He warned against greater expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as it threatens to end the possibility of a two-state solution, He also condemned Russia for violating the U.N. charter in its invasion of Ukraine.

On the subject of AI, Guterres said that the technology itself is not solely where danger lies. Instead, it is “technology without accountability.” He urged government leaders to cooperate to establish rules and regulations to rein in the technology with transparency and trust at the forefront.

Guterres spotlighted gender parity in the U.N.. He said the U.N., for the first time ever, achieved gender parity across its senior leadership, headquarters and professional staff.

“Equality is not a dream. It is a decision,” Guterres said.