UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Wednesday that human rights were “under attack” throughout the world as he opened the General Assembly debate.

“From barrel bombs to beheadings, from the deliberate starvation of civilians to the assault on hospitals, UN shelters and aid convoys, human rights and the rule of law are under attack,” the UN chief told the 193-nation Assembly.

Ban cited the “new depths of barbarity” carried out by militants in Syria and Iraq and drew up a long list of world crises: The war in Gaza, fighting in Ukraine, South Sudan and Central African Republic.

“It has been a terrible year for the principles enshrined in the United Nations charter” that puts peace and security at the center of its mission, said Ban.

The number of refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers has reached its highest level since World War II and the UN is struggling to respond to a record number of appeals for food aid.

“This year, the horizon of hope is darkened.”

Ban alluded to East-West tensions over the fighting in Ukraine and the turmoil in Libya and elsewhere in the Arab world as setbacks in building world peace.