UN chief’s last annual speech slams world leaders for lack of cooperation

Antonio Guterres appears to instrumentality purpose astatine the US, which precocious slashed its contribution, telling the UN to ‘adapt oregon die’.

United Nations main Antonio Guterres has lashed retired astatine satellite leaders helium accused of turning their backs connected planetary practice amid “self-defeating geopolitical divides” and “brazen violations of planetary law”.

Addressing the UN General Assembly connected Thursday, the UN secretary-general slammed “wholesale cuts successful improvement and humanitarian aid”, informing that they were “shaking the foundations of planetary practice and investigating the resilience of multilateralism itself”.

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“At a clip erstwhile we request planetary practice the most, we look to beryllium the slightest inclined to usage it and put successful it. Some question to enactment planetary practice connected deathwatch,” helium said.

Last yearly speech

The secretary-general, who volition measurement down astatine the extremity of 2026, held disconnected naming offending countries, but appeared to notation to heavy cuts to the budgets of UN agencies made by the United States nether the “America First” policies of US President Donald Trump.

While different countries person besides chopped funding, the US announced astatine the extremity of past twelvemonth that it would beryllium allocating lone $2bn to United Nations humanitarian assistance, representing a tiny fraction of the starring funder’s erstwhile contributions of up to $17bn.

Trump’s medication has effectively dismantled its superior level for overseas aid, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), calling connected UN agencies to “adapt, shrink oregon die”.

Setting retired his past yearly database of priorities arsenic secretary-general for the twelvemonth ahead, Guterres said the UN was “totally committed successful the origin of bid successful Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and acold beyond and tireless successful delivering life-saving assistance to those truthful hopeless for support”.

The UN main insisted humanitarian assistance beryllium allowed to “flow unimpeded” into Gaza, said nary effort should beryllium spared to halt the Russia-Ukraine war, and urged a resumption of talks to bring astir a lasting ceasefire successful Sudan.

Those 3 deadly, protracted conflicts person travel to specify Guterres’s clip astatine the helm of the UN, with critics arguing the organisation has proved ineffective astatine struggle prevention.

The organisation’s apical decision-making body, the Security Council, is paralysed due to the fact that of tensions betwixt the US, Russia and China, each 3 of which are permanent, veto-wielding members.