UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2026: WHAT WORLD LEADERS HAVE SAID

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York City, US. | United Nations

As the 81st edition of the United Nations General Assembly continues in New York, world leaders have been speaking.

From calls to defend multilateralism to UN reforms, respect for countries’ sovereignty, and the inclusion of Africa in global governance, the assembly is living up to its billing as the grand theatre of global discourse.   

Some remarks have been pragmatic, others sensational, and some outright ironic. Here are those that have stood out so far.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General– Responding to Global Challenges

The outgoing UNSG said the fault lines in our world are widening and that cracks have become canyons. He cited the wars that have erupted in the world in the last decade, where ‘‘civilians were targeted, human rights trampled, hunger weaponised, and humanitarian workers killed.’’

‘‘International law has been cast aside. Geopolitical divides have deepened.   Inequalities have intensified.   Trust has frayed. The climate crisis went from distant warning to daily reality.’’

Guterres added that these are not separate crises. ‘‘They are chapters of the same story.   The story of power.  Who has it. Who is denied it.  How it is used. And how it is changing.’’

‘‘We are witnessing an extraordinary transfer of power away from governments to a handful of private corporations and individuals. Their reach now extends across politics, economies, information flows, technological development, and the civic space on which societies depend.’’

President William Ruto of Kenya at the 2026 UN General Assembly. | United Nations

WILLIAM RUTO, President of Kenya – Africa’s Inclusion at the UN Security Council

‘‘Africa cannot remain the only continent without permanent representation in the institution entrusted with international peace and security,’’ President Ruto said.

He added: ‘‘A continent of 54 countries and more than 1.4bn people cannot remain at the margins of decisions central to global peace and security.’’

‘‘International Law cannot be a shield for some and a restraint for others. Defending the [UN] Charter doesn’t mean defending every institutional arrangement created 80 years ago,’’ Ruto noted.

MIA MOTLEY, Prime Minister, Barbados – Sovereignty of nations and reforming the world order  

‘‘The post-independence movement of the post-World War II era was intended to give us opportunity and choices. Regrettably, those are being taken from us, without our participation, without our input.’’

Mottley says that, after the US’s incursion in Venezuela, it became clear that small nations like Barbados can only survive in a rule-based order.

Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley, at the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2026. | United Nations

‘‘That’s why we have called consistently for global moral strategic leadership. Moral because it matters where we stand. Strategic because we need to be able to contextualise where the world is,’’ the PM adds.

To her, ‘‘Global institutions still reflect the structure, the structure reflects the interests, and the Charter reflects issues that were universal in time and nature, but others by their omission, aren’t addressing the needs of the world in which we live.’’

US President Donald Trump addressing world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81). | STOCK

DONALD TRUMP, US President – Defending Nationalism:

‘‘As President of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester; they only become harder to solve.’’

‘‘While others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them. While others have talked of courage, America has shown it.’’

President Trump has also taken aim at UNESCO, accusing the institution of ‘‘ceaseless promotion of mass migration’’ and ‘‘actively destroying’’ the greatest cultures and most extraordinary heritage in history.

‘‘There is no human right to illegal immigration, but there is a right to remain a sovereign nation.” 

French President Emmanuel Macron addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2026. | STOCK

EMMANUEL MACRON, President of France – Protecting Multilateralism

‘‘Do we want to live under this state of affairs — with a return to the law of the jungle — or do we want to live in a civilised international society?”

Macron called for a revival of multilateralism to “tackle common challenges together”.  

“The Geneva Convention is being dismantled…There cannot be peace without justice,” President Macron said, adding that France supports the International Court of Justice.  

He added: “We simply cannot accept this new order of impunity which some are trying to erect.”