(Note: A full summary of today's General Assembly general debate will be made available upon completion.)
See below for full summaries of speakers in today’s General Debate
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
Opening the general debate of the eightieth session of the General Assembly, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recalled that the creation of the Organization was a conscious decision for cooperation over chaos, law over lawlessness, peace over conflict. Warning that the world has “entered in an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering”, he challenged world leaders to choose a future: “A world of raw power — or a world of laws. A world that is a scramble for self-interest — or a world where nations come together.”
Outlining “five critical choices”, he urged Member States to choose peace rooted in international law. “Impunity is the mother of chaos — and it has spawned some of the most atrocious conflicts of our times,” he warned. In Sudan, civilians are being slaughtered, starved and silenced, he said, underscoring the importance of ending the external support that is fuelling the bloodshed. Commending recent diplomatic efforts by the United States and other countries to end the war in Ukraine, he called for a full ceasefire and a just, lasting peace. “In Gaza, the horrors are approaching a third monstrous year,” he observed, citing “a scale of death and destruction beyond any other conflict” in his years as Secretary-General. He reiterated his condemnation of the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages, while underscoring that “nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and the systematic destruction of Gaza”. He called for the full and immediate implementation of the International Court of Justice measures, a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and humanitarian access. “And we must not relent in the only viable answer to sustainable Middle East peace: a two-State solution,” he stated.
Stressing that “human rights are not an ornament of peace — they are its bedrock”, he said they require everyday battle and political will. The fuel to achieve them through the shared road map of the Sustainable Development Goals needs financing to fuel it, but aid cuts are wreaking havoc. “To choose dignity, we must choose financial justice and solidarity,” he said, calling for reform of the international financial architecture. On climate change, Mr. Guterres warned that “the window is closing” to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of this century. “We need stepped-up action and ambition — especially through strengthened national climate plans,” he said, stressing that the Group of 20 (G20) — the biggest emitters — must lead. He called for scaled-up climate finance, including a credible road map to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries by 2035, doubling adaptation finance to $40 billion this year, and full capitalization of the Loss and Damage Fund. Addressing the impact of technology, he said: “Technology must be our servant — not our master.” Welcoming the Assembly’s decision to establish an Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and an annual Global Dialogue on AI Governance, he cautioned against unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI): “No company should be above the law. No machine should decide who lives or dies.”
To meet all these goals, Mr. Guterres said, the international community must choose to strengthen the United Nations for the twenty-first century. Describing as “indefensible” the fact that for every dollar invested to build peace, the world spends 750 dollars on weapons of war, he emphasized: “In this moment of crisis, the United Nations has never been more essential.” “Together, let us choose to invest in a United Nations that adapts, innovates and is empowered to deliver for people everywhere,” he said. Concluding, the Secretary-General urged Member States to act decisively: “In a world of many choices, there is one choice we must never make: the choice to give up. We must never give up. For peace. For dignity. For justice. For humanity.”
Annalena Baerbock (Germany), President of the General Assembly
Annalena Baerbock (Germany), President of the General Assembly, underscored current challenges amid the United Nations’ eightieth anniversary. “This is not an ordinary year,” she said, highlighting the plight of people in crisis zones such as Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She called for the UN to do better and “not let cynics weaponize these failures” by saying that the institution is outdated or irrelevant. She asked whether, when the principles of the UN Charter are ignored, it is the UN that has failed. “It is not the Charter which fails,” nor the UN as an institution, she said. “The Charter is only as strong as Member States’ willingness to uphold it,” and to hold its violators accountable. Imagine how much worse off the world would be without the UN, she emphasized, noting that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) educates 26 million children and the World Food Programme (WFP) helps nearly 125 million people.
This session is about finding the resolve to be better together. The institution was born “in a world on fire” and since then has been “a compass pointing towards peace, humanity and justice.” It’s story is not one of easy victories, but of falling and rising, of pulling each other back up and trying harder. Today, the United Nations gathers to prove that it — and every nation represented within it — can summon strength and unity first shown in San Francisco 80 years ago. The founders showed that leadership is not about imposing one’s will, but rather, lifting others up — acting from a sense of altruism, mutual benefit and even self-interest. Helping others makes one’s own country stronger — as seen in response to the global pandemic, climate crisis, the development of international aviation safety regulations and efforts to ensure AI does not go unchecked. “In this globalized, digitalized world, we work together — or we suffer alone.”
She introduced the theme of this session, “Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development and Human Rights”. Living up to that theme will not be easy, but the General Assembly was made to confront the hardest topics and resolve differences. “But, even the house of dialogue and diplomacy needs a renovation,” she stressed, underlining that the UN80 initiative and wider reform process are necessities. She emphasized that it is a make-or-break moment. The General Assembly must deliver an agile, cost-effective and fit-for-purpose institution, with reform in every capital, delivering on the Pact for the Future and accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals, without which there can be no lasting peace. She highlighted the upcoming selection of the next Secretary-General, of which there has never been a woman chosen. It is not only an issue of representation but also of the credibility of the UN, she said.
Brazil: Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, President
Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, President of Brazil, highlighted the link between the “multilateralism crisis and the weakening of democracy,” observing that “throughout the world, anti-democratic forces are trying to subjugate institutions and stifle freedoms”. They worship violence, praise ignorance, act as physical and digital militias, and restrict the press”. Brazil has and will continue to defend its hard-won democracy from unilateral measures targeting its judiciary and economy, he stressed. A former Head of State was convicted of attacking democracy the first time in 525 years of Brazilian history. The right to defend himself in court was upheld — something that would be denied under a dictatorship. In doing so, Brazil sent a message to “aspiring autocrats” and their supporters: “Our democracy and sovereignty are non-negotiable.” Further, sound democracies reduce inequality and guarantee the most basic rights of food, safety, housing, education and health.
“Poverty is as much an enemy of democracy as extremism,” he continued, highlighting that Brazil has been taken off the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Hunger Map in 2025 — though, globally, 2.3 billion people face food insecurity. “The only war of which everyone can emerge victorious is the one we wage against hunger and poverty,” he said, calling for a change in the international community’s priorities to focus on reducing arms spending, increasing development aid, providing debt relief for the poorest nations and setting a minimum global tax — “so that the super-rich pay more taxes than workers”. Democracy also protects family and childhood. In that vein, he voiced concern that digital platforms have been used to sow intolerance, misogyny, xenophobia and misinformation. Regulating the internet does not mean restricting the freedom of expression — it ensures that what is “illegal in the real world is treated that way in the virtual environment”. Objections to regulation cover up crimes such as human trafficking and paedophilia, he said, recalling that “the Brazilian Parliament was right to rush to address this issue” in recent legislation.
Turning to Latin America and the Caribbean, he voiced concern over growing polarization and instability in the region. Comparing crime to terrorism is “worrying”, he added, condemning the use of lethal force in situations that are not armed conflict as “executing people without trial”. Such interventions cause more damage than intended. “The path to dialogue must not be closed in Venezuela. Haiti has the right to a violence-free future. And it is unacceptable that Cuba is listed as a country that sponsors terrorism,” he underlined. However, “no situation is more emblematic of the disproportionate and illegal use of force than the one occurring in Palestine”. Condemning the Hamas terror attacks, he said “nothing justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza”. International humanitarian law and the myth of Western exceptionalism are buried under the rubble there. The survival of the Palestinian people requires an independent State.
“Bombs and nuclear weapons will not protect us from of the climate crisis,” he said. 2024 was the hottest year on record, he continued, noting that the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belem will be a moment “for world leaders to prove the seriousness of their commitment to the planet”. For its part, Brazil has committed to reduce its emissions by between 59 and 67 per cent in all economic sectors. His country has also reduced deforestation by half in the Amazon in the past two years. He stressed that confrontation is not inevitable, calling for “leaders […] who understand that the international order is not a ‘zero-sum game’”. In an increasingly multipolar world, peace requires multilateralism, he concluded.
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