In his final address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged global leaders to implement regulations on artificial intelligence, end ongoing wars, prioritize climate change, and reform UN institutions that he warned are increasingly unable to address escalating global challenges.
The former Portuguese prime minister, whose second term concludes on December 31, reiterated his call for international oversight of AI risks. This appeal comes as the UN Security Council, composed of 15 members, prepares to host a briefing with AI experts on the implications of this powerful technology.
Guterres also highlighted the persistent deadlock within the UN, noting that nearly 130 world leaders gathered in New York while key figures such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from South Africa, India, and Germany were absent from the diplomatic meeting.
The assembly responded with prolonged applause when Guterres defended a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, insisted that polluters must be held accountable for climate change, and called for reforms to international institutions—issues he has championed throughout his decade-long leadership of the United Nations.
This address marked the culmination of Guterres’s ten-year tenure during which he endeavored to establish the UN as a mediator in conflicts and a platform for governing emerging technologies, even as major powers increasingly circumvented the organization and US funding was drastically reduced.
“Countries leading this technological revolution must share information on emerging safety risks, cooperate on testing and evaluation, and work towards common safeguards that protect us all,” Guterres emphasized to the assembly.
He urged the gathered leaders to “advance the conditions for the responsible pacing of AI and the additional safeguards needed to address risks,” advocating for a multilateral AI risk management framework backed by credible and independent oversight.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday that Washington proposed a new AI safety notification mechanism for consideration by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi at their upcoming summit. This initiative aims to establish a US-China AI dialogue covering AI-related incidents with national security implications.
Guterres has been a persistent advocate for global AI governance. In 2023, the UN established a 39-member advisory body on AI, including executives from tech companies, government officials, and academics from countries such as the US, Russia, and Japan.
The Security Council also convened for the first time that year to discuss AI risks, with China warning against the technology becoming a “runaway horse” and the US cautioning against its use for censorship or repression.
Addressing the Middle East, where conflicts have expanded with Houthi advances threatening Red Sea shipping routes and ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, Guterres called for “de-escalation and dialogue.”
“Together, let us send a clear message from this hall: The fighting must stop. Humanitarian aid must flow. Navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored in accordance with international law,” he stated.
Regarding the UN system, which has faced criticism from figures like Trump as inefficient and bloated—especially after the US withdrew from several UN agencies and cut funding—Guterres acknowledged that “our mechanisms for collective action are under growing strain” and that global institutions “continue to reflect the power realities and interests of a largely bygone age.”
In closing, Guterres bid farewell to the global leaders he has collaborated with over the past decade. “So, on January 1st, when I am no longer Secretary-General, be sure of this: Wherever I will be, whatever I will be doing—I will keep championing the conviction that peace is possible,” he affirmed. “I will continue to stand up for the values of the United Nations Charter and I will never, ever give up. Thank you.”
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