24 January 2026 20:15 UTC · UN Secretary-General · UN SG Press Release · Source · Email X Link

UN Secretary-General urges leaders to choose law over power

Key points

Urges leaders to choose law over power
Calls for bold UN and Security Council reform

TL;DR

The United Nations launched Shared Lives, Shared Future exhibition marking the Organization’s eightieth anniversary.
Speakers at the General Assembly called for safe zones, sustained international support and justice for the Rohingya, including referral to the International Criminal Court.
Heads of State and Government called for bold reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to better respond to global crises.
The war in Gaza remained in focus amid growing Member State support for a sovereign State of Palestine.
Speakers called to end nuclear sabre-rattling, return to dialogue and honour disarmament commitments.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged leaders to choose between a world of raw power or a world of laws.

Original text

The United Nations today launched Shared Lives, Shared Future, a global exhibition marking the Organization’s eightieth anniversary through powerful human stories from around the world. As the Rohingya flee brutal attacks and persecution in Myanmar, speakers at the General Assembly today called for safe zones, sustained international support and justice, including by referring the situation to the International Criminal Court. Comprehensive live coverage of the general debate of the General Assembly's eightieth session. Speakers warned of the dangers of unilateralism, emphasized the importance of the rule of law and appealed for more robust multilateralism, including through urgent reforms to the United Nations, as the General Assembly wrapped up its annual high-level general debate today. Heads of State and Government gathering for the fifth day of the General Assembly’s annual general debate called for bold reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, so it can better respond to global crises and remain a genuine guarantor of peace and security. The war in Gaza remained in sharp focus on the fourth day of the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate in a week that began with a conference for Palestinian statehood amid growing support among Member States for a sovereign State of Palestine. Speakers called on world leaders to end nuclear sabre-rattling, return to dialogue and honour disarmament commitments to prevent humanity from extinction, as the General Assembly held a high-level meeting to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Amid warnings that the United Nations risks becoming “the next League of Nations”, world leaders gathering for day three of the General Assembly’s general debate called for the Organization’s “reset” and voiced hope for peace and reconciliation. Struggling to manage a world rife with conflict and emerging threats — from cyberattacks to drones to climate change — global leaders gathering for day two of the General Assembly’s general debate stressed the urgency of strengthening the Organization created eight decades ago to restore peace after two world wars. Opening the general debate of the eightieth session of the General Assembly, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged leaders to choose between “a world of raw power — or a world of laws”.

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