UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a farewell address to global leaders this evening, depicted a world divided by an unjust economy, contempt for human rights and a failure to make peace in the Middle East.
To a standing ovation from presidents, prime and foreign ministers, Mr Annan, who ends 10 years in office on December 31st, said there had been some progress in living standards, security and a drop in global conflicts since he first addressed the General Assembly in 1997.
"And yet. And yet. Every day, reports reach us of new laws broken, of new bestial crimes to which individuals and minority groups are subjected," Mr Annan said.
"The events of the last 10 years have not resolved, but sharpened, the three great challenges I spoke of - an unjust world economy, world disorder, and widespread contempt for human rights and the rule of law," Mr Annan said.
"As a result, we face a world whose divisions threaten the very notion of an international community, upon which this institution stands," he said.
Mr Annan said fear of terrorism had made many people feel insecure but warned that should not be used as a pretext "to abridge or abrogate fundamental human rights."
Mr Annan had pushed for the right of the international community to protect populations when their governments refused to do so, which was enshrined in a document adopted by world leaders a year ago.
But Mr Annan, a Ghanaian, said the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region made that commitment of protection from atrocities seem an empty promise.
"Sadly, once again the biggest challenge comes from Africa - from Darfur, where the continued spectacle of men, women and children driven from their homes by murder, rape and the burning of their villages makes a mockery of our claim, as an international community, to shield people from the worst abuses," Mr Annan said.
Middle East violence contributed to the international climate of fear and suspicion, he said.
"We might like to think of the Arab-Israeli conflict as just one regional conflict amongst many. But it is not," Mr Annan said. "No other conflict carries such a powerful symbolic and emotional charge among people far removed from the battlefield."
"As long as the Palestinians live under occupation, exposed to daily frustration and humiliation; and as long as Israelis are blown up in buses and in dance-halls: so long will passions everywhere be inflamed," he said.
Toward the end of his speech, Mr Annan's choked up and he had tears in his eyes as he characterized his job as "difficult and challenging but at times also thrillingly rewarding."
"We have pushing some big rocks to the top of the mountain, even if others have slipped from our grasp and rolled back," the secretary-general said.
"While I look forward to resting my shoulder from those stubborn rocks in the next phase of my life, I know I shall miss the mountain," Mr Annan said.
"Yes, I shall miss what is, when all is said and done, the world's most exalting job. I yield my place to others with an obstinate feeling of hope for our common future," Mr Annan said.