UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the ReutersNEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, U.S., November 8, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
UNITED NATIONS:
Powerful forces are lining up to undermine global cooperation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned at a landmark event in London on Saturday to mark the 80th anniversary of the UN General Assembly, but he urged that “humanity is strongest when we stand as one”.
Speaking at the Methodist Central Hall, the very place where the first ever UN General Assembly was held on January 10, 1946, Guterres urged delegates at the event to be “bold enough to change. Brave enough to find the courage of those who came to this hall 80 years ago to create a better world.”
Organized by the United Nations Association-UK, Saturday’s anniversary event brought together over 1,000 delegates from around the world, with speakers including General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, UN Champion for Space Professor Brian Cox and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Maya Ghazal.
The event also marks the 80th anniversary of the first UN Security Council, which took place on 17 January 1946 in the nearby church building.
During his keynote address, Guterres reflected on the symbolic location of the commemoration. The first General Assembly took place within these same walls four months after the end of the Second World War, in a heavily bombed London where tens of thousands had been killed, a powerful reminder of why the United Nations had been created.
“To reach this hall, delegates had to pass through a city scarred by war. Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the House of Commons had been shelled by the Luftwaffe. And as these bombs fell, terrified civilians huddled here in the basement of the Methodist Central Hall – one of the largest public air raid shelters in London,” said the General Secretary in London.
Throughout the Blitz, as many as 2,000 people gathered in the hall for protection before the nations of the world gathered there in 1946 to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’.
“In many ways, this hall is a physical representation of what the United Nations is: a place where people put their faith – for peace, for security, for a better life,” Guterres reflected.
In the 80 years that have passed since the first General Assembly, the UN has expanded from 51 members to 193.
The UN chief emphasized that the General Assembly, the main consultative, political and representative body of the UN, is “the parliament of the people’s family. It is a forum where every voice can be heard, a melting pot of consensus and a beacon of cooperation.”
While acknowledging that the work of the General Assembly “is not always straightforward or problem-free”, he described it as a “mirror of our world, its divisions and its hopes. And it is the stage where our shared history plays out.”
Reflecting on the past decade, Guterres spoke of how “the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan have been vicious and cruel beyond measure; artificial intelligence has become ubiquitous almost overnight; and the pandemic poured accelerating fire on nationalism – stalling progress on development and climate action.”
The UN chief emphasized how 2025 was a “deeply challenging” year for international cooperation and UN values.
“Aid was cut. Inequalities widened. Climate chaos accelerated. International law was trampled. Crackdowns on civil society intensified. Journalists were killed with impunity. And UN staff were repeatedly threatened – or killed – in the course of their duties.”
The UN reported that by 2025 global military spending would reach $2.7 trillion – over 200 times the UK’s current aid budget or equivalent to over 70 per cent of the UK’s entire economy.
Fossil fuel profits have also continued to rise while the planet broke heat records, Guterres stressed.
“And in cyberspace, algorithms rewarded falsehoods, fueled hatred, and gave authoritarians powerful tools of control.”
A “robust, responsive and well-resourced multilateral system” is needed to address the world’s interconnected challenges, Mr. Guterres urged, but “the values of multilateralism are being eroded.”
