The 81st UN General Assembly’s high-level debate began in New York on September 22, with nearly 130 heads of state and government expected to attend.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised the existing global order, warning about democratic backsliding and saying the UN’s credibility has reached a historic low.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his final General Assembly address before leaving office on December 31, called for action on conflicts, climate change and AI governance and backed reforms to UN institutions.
The high-level United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) began proceedings on Tuesday in New York. Around 130 heads of state and government are expected to deliver speeches at the forum. Several high-profile guests, including US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron, are also expected to be present.
The session was opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who ended his address with a standing ovation after his speech focused on the “widening fault lines” in our world, referring to climate change, war and AI. The occasion was made even more momentous as his term ends on December 31.
Traditionally, Brazil is the first country to address the General Assembly, which meant that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was the first head of state to speak. In his speech, he criticised the existing global order, saying that the UN’s credibility has “never been lower”. Lula also warned that the “law of the strongest” had gone too far.
Lula Warns Against Democratic Backsliding
In his speech, Lula also said that democracy was “once again under threat”, referring to foreign interventions in elections, which he described as “colonial incursions”.
The Brazilian President also indirectly took aim at the US seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, saying that the Venezuelan people had the right to self-determination. He also referenced the conflict in Palestine, mentioning that the “pain and trauma” of what he described as the “genocide” in Gaza will be carried by generations of Palestinians.
In his speech, he also urged countries around the world to choose between multilateralism and unilateralism, democracy and extremism, and sovereignty and subordination, adding that “these choices require courage, political will and clarity of objectives”.
Attack On UN’s Credibility
The Brazilian President also criticised the UN for its failures, saying it had failed in one of its most important missions: “to rid humanity of the scourge of war”.
The UN’s “credibility has never been lower,” he said. “Its ability to protect the most vulnerable – those who have no army or arsenals – has never been so weak.”
Lula also stated that the global community is a hostage to the UN Security Council’s failure to handle major crises and fulfil its fundamental peacekeeping role. His statements echo a sentiment shared by much of the developing world, including India, which has been consistently campaigning for reform of the top international body.
