Guterres Urges Leaders to Act as UNGA Week Begins

UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking at a press conference at the UN Headquarters, in New York. (file photo)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged world leaders to “get serious – and deliver” as they arrive in New York for the high-level week of the 80th General Assembly.

Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, he warned that global divisions, conflicts, and crises have left international cooperation at its most fragile point in decades.

“Some call it the World Cup of diplomacy,” Guterres said. “But this cannot be about scoring points – it must be about solving problems. There is too much at stake.”

The UN chief described a world adrift in “turbulent, uncharted waters,” citing widening geopolitical divides, escalating conflicts, climate change, runaway technologies, and rising inequalities as urgent challenges.

“International cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes,” he said.

Nearly 150 heads of state and government are expected in New York next week, alongside thousands of officials and diplomats. Guterres said he would personally hold more than 150 bilateral meetings, urging leaders “to speak directly with each other, to bridge divides, to reduce risks, to find solutions.”

He highlighted peace, climate, responsible innovation, gender equality, development financing, and UN reform as central themes of the week.

Calling for urgent steps to end wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and beyond, he reiterated the need for “a just, lasting peace in the Middle East based on a two-State solution.”

On climate, he urged countries to submit stronger national plans to keep global warming below the 1.5°C threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement – which he warned is increasingly out of reach.

He also announced the launch of a Global Dialogue on AI Governance to ensure technology develops with humanity’s benefit “at the centre.”

The week will also feature the first biennial summit bringing together international financial institutions and world leaders to advance financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are seriously off track. It will also mark the 30th anniversary of the landmark Beijing conference on gender equality.

“The list is long because the needs are great,” Guterres said, stressing that today’s crises demand not “posturing and promises” but genuine leadership committed to progress.

He concluded with a blunt appeal: “The United Nations is the place. Next week is the time. Leaders must get serious – and deliver.”