Multilateral system straining under fractured geopolitics: Guterres warns at 81st UNGA session

New York : Warning that the multilateral global order and its institutions are straining under geopolitical mistrust, ongoing conflicts, and slashed aid funding, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that rebuilding faith in international cooperation remains “the defining challenge of our time.”
Addressing delegates at the opening of the eighty-first session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Guterres offered full backing to President of the 81st General Assembly session Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh while outlining the urgent, interlocking crises confronting the international community.
Guterres welcomed President Khalilur Rahman, praising his political experience and commitment to consensus-building, while thanking outgoing President Annalena Baerbock for her leadership over the previous year. He further commended Rahman’s chosen theme, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.”
“Mr. President of the General Assembly, congratulations, once again, on your election. And I thank the outgoing President — Her Excellency, Annalena Baerbock — for so ably guiding this Assembly over the last year. I pledge my full support to you, President Khalilur Rahman (Bangladesh), as you take on this important role. Your remarkable political and diplomatic experience — together with your deep knowledge of the United Nations — are the best guarantees of success as you assume this high office. Throughout your distinguished career, you have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to dialogue, consensus-building and international cooperation — qualities that will serve the General Assembly well in the year ahead,” he said.
“And I welcome the theme of your presidency — ‘Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.’ Rebuilding trust in the multilateral system is the defining challenge of our time. And I look forward to working with you, Mr. President, to continue this critical effort,” he added.
In his wide-ranging opening address, the UN Chief painted a stark picture of global challenges, citing nuclear risks, worsening climate conditions, and declining financial resources for humanitarian operations.
“In these tumultuous times, the global problem-solving system is more crucial than ever,” Guterres said. “We face conflicts, divisions and a risk of nuclear escalation, persistent poverty and inequality, worsening climate chaos, technology like artificial intelligence (AI) that offers great promise, but also great peril without good governance and transparency around its environmental footprint, and sluggish progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Highlighting the acute pressure placed on international institutions, Guterres noted that humanitarian suffering is mounting alongside record migration.
“Displacement is near record levels. Human suffering is intensifying while funding for aid and development is being slashed. The institutions of the multilateral system — from the UN Security Council, to the international financial architecture — are straining to meet the moment,” Guterres stated. “International law and human rights — the core of our Organization — are too often flouted with impunity. And geopolitical mistrust and suspicion continue to block the effective solutions we need — and erode people’s faith in the possibilities of global cooperation.”
Marking a personal milestone, Guterres noted that this opening session represents his final address to the General Assembly as Secretary-General. Despite the prevailing global headwinds, he expressed optimism in the Assembly’s role as the premier venue for multilateral diplomacy.
“As I join you in this opening of a General Assembly session for the last time as Secretary-General, I have enormous hope thanks to the work that happens here,” Guterres noted. “From the start, this has been the place where the world’s toughest and most consequential problems are confronted head-on.”
Guterres further called on member states to execute structural reforms to prepare the organisation for future challenges.
“Our direction is clear. The Pact for the Future and the UN80 Initiative represent a blueprint for action, solutions and bold reforms to carry our Organization into the future. The work of this Assembly is critical to bringing these commitments to life,” Guterres declared. “As we embark on the eighty-first General Assembly, let’s meet the moment. Let’s live up to the great promise of this Organization, and through solidarity deliver the solutions our world needs.”
Khalilur Rahman was elected to serve as President of the 81st session of the General Assembly following the elections on June 2.
He assumed the Presidency of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.