Overview
- Speaking at London's Methodist Central Hall, the site of the first General Assembly, he warned of "powerful forces" undermining cooperation.
- He said 2025 was "profoundly challenging," citing wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, rapid AI adoption, and pandemic-fueled nationalism.
- He highlighted slashed aid, surging fossil-fuel profits, record heat and a UN report of $2.7 trillion in global military spending as signs of eroding norms.
- He urged a "robust, responsive and well-resourced multilateral" system as the values of multilateralism are "being chipped away."
- He pointed to the new high-seas biodiversity treaty as proof cooperation can deliver, and the UNA-UK event gathered over 1,000 delegates including Annalena Baerbock, Brian Cox and Maya Ghazal.