With global peace and progress under immense siege, the United Nations chief issued a powerful challenge to world leaders on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. He implored them to champion a future where the rule of law undeniably triumphs over brute force and where nations choose unity over self-serving interests.
Drawing parallels to the U.N.’s foundational moments 80 years ago, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded today’s leaders, gathered for their annual assembly, that the fundamental choice between peace and war, order and chaos, collaboration and conflict, is now ‘more urgent, more intertwined, more unforgiving’ than ever before.
“We have entered an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering,” he declared in his annual ‘state of the world’ address. He grimly noted that “the pillars of peace and progress are buckling under the weight of impunity, inequality, and indifference.”
Guterres emphasized that the leaders’ primary obligation remains the pursuit of peace. Without explicitly naming any countries, he urged all parties—including those within the assembly hall—to immediately cease their support for the warring factions in Sudan.
He also delivered his strongest condemnation yet against actions in Gaza, stating unequivocally that the sheer scale of death and destruction witnessed there is the worst he has seen in his nearly nine years as secretary-general. He asserted that ‘nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.’
While Guterres has consistently maintained that only a court can definitively determine whether Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, he explicitly referenced the case brought by South Africa to the U.N.’s highest court under the genocide convention. He stressed the legally binding provisional measures issued by the court, particularly the paramount need to protect Palestinian civilians.
Since the International Court of Justice issued that crucial ruling in January 2024, Guterres noted a sharp intensification of killings, alongside the devastating declaration of famine in parts of Gaza. He unequivocally stated that the court’s directives ‘must be implemented – fully and immediately.’
Adding to the global challenges, the U.N. itself is facing severe financial cutbacks, as the United States and other nations have either withdrawn funding or delayed their dues. Guterres warned that these aid reductions are ‘wreaking havoc,’ describing them as ‘a death sentence for many.’