UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday warned of the danger posed by “powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation” in a speech marking the 80th anniversary of the first major meeting of the United Nations.
He spoke at the Methodist Central Hall in London – the site where delegates from 51 countries have met for the past eight decades Opening session To the General Assembly – The President of the United Nations will make an impassioned plea for the virtues of multilateralism and international law to prevail during a period of heightened global uncertainty.
In January 1946, the first General Assembly resolution focused on disarmament and the elimination of atomic weapons as a global goal.
Now, Guterres warns that the planet faces countless threats that were unimaginable at the time, citing the climate crisis and the threat from “cyberspace” at a time when many countries are locked in a new arms race, although he will refrain from naming the offending countries.
The Secretary-General, who will step down at the end of 2026, will say: “Last year, global military spending reached $2.7 trillion – more than 200 times the UK’s current aid budget, or the equivalent of more than 70% of Britain’s entire economy.”
The deep investment in weapons goes hand in hand with his concerns that the drivers of climate breakdown are being deliberately ignored and that online content is undermining democracy.
“While the planet broke temperature records, fossil fuel profits continued to rise. In cyberspace, algorithms rewarded lies, fueled hatred, and provided autocrats with powerful tools for control,” he will tell a London audience.
The 76-year-old’s comments come at a time when the United Nations is experiencing chronic funding difficulties, driven largely by the decisions of US President Donald Trump.
The United States announced that it would allocate only $2 billion (£1.5 billion) to UN humanitarian aid, a small fraction of its previous contributions as the main funder. The announcement was accompanied by a warning from the US State Department that the global body must “adapt, shrink or die,” and that demands would be imposed on countries receiving the funds.
Just over a week later, Trump announced the US withdrawal from several UN agencies, as well as from a key climate treaty.
Experts say that cutting funding will cause the international aid system to shrink and become less effective, with the United Nations already saying that a lack of funding threatens to collapse the system. Obstructing global peacekeeping operations.
However, Guterres says the reforms will ensure that “the United Nations is more flexible, more coordinated and more responsive.”