Guterres warns of ‘powerful forces’ undermining ‘global cooperation’ | United Nations
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres will warn of the danger posed by “powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation” in his speech marking the 80th anniversary of the UN’s first major meeting on Saturday.
Speech at London’s Methodist Central Hall, where delegates from 51 countries gathered eighty years ago opening session At the plenary session – the UN chief will make an impassioned appeal for the virtues of multilateralism and international law to prevail at a time of deepening global uncertainty.
In January 1946, the first resolution of the general assembly focused on disarmament and the elimination of atomic weapons as a global goal.
Now Guterres is warning that a planet faces a then-unthinkable myriad of threats, citing the climate crisis and the threat from “cyberspace” at a time when many countries are locked in a new arms race, though he will refrain from naming the offending states.
The outgoing secretary-general at the end of 2026 will say: “Last year, global military spending reached $2.7 trillion, more than 200 times the UK’s current aid budget, or equivalent to more than 70% of Britain’s entire economy.”
The deepening investment in weapons parallels concerns that factors driving climate change are being deliberately ignored and that online content is undermining democracy.
“As the planet broke temperature records, fossil fuel profits continued to soar. In cyberspace, algorithms rewarded lies, fueled hatred and gave authoritarians powerful tools of control,” he will tell audiences in London.
The 76-year-old’s comments come as the UN faces chronic funding difficulties, largely caused by US President Donald Trump’s decisions.
The US announced it would allocate just $2bn (£1.5bn) to UN humanitarian aid; this is a fraction of his previous contributions as a leading funder. The announcement came as the US State Department warned that the global body must “adapt, shrink or die” and will make demands on countries receiving the money.
A little more than a week later, Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from several UN agencies and the key climate agreement.
While experts say funding cuts will cause the international aid system to shrink and become less effective, the UN already says the funding gap poses a global threat. Disrupting global peacekeeping operations.
But Guterres says the reforms will enable “the United Nations to be more agile, more coordinated and more responsive.”
