General themes
Multilateralism at UNGA 81
Raised by 184 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised multilateralism
Cyprus · Day 2Nikos ChristodoulidesThe international landscape is becoming more complex, more contested, and more unpredictable.
The international order is not simply changing.
It is being tested in an unprecedented manner.
11passages
Paraguay · Day 2Santiago Peña PalaciosDifferent problems need different solutions.
Otherwise, this magnificent idea, the United Nations, will simply be overtaken by events and will be reduced to a forum for beautiful speeches with very little action for ordinary people.
Some have concluded from all of this that multilateralism has failed.
8passages
Andorra · Day 2Xavier Espot ZamoraPresident, Secretary General, Excellencies, there is an idea that has accompanied Andorra for more than 270 years and that continues to shape the way that we understand politics.
The manual digest, one of the great works of our traditional heritage, through which Antoni Fiter i Roset condensed and recounted the essence of Andorran identity, reminds us that the legitimate exercise of power only makes sense when it places the common good above any other interest.
This idea written in 1748, long before modern international organizations came into existence, remains remarkably relevant today.
8passages
Ecuador · Day 2Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa AzinThis was the experience of families that weren't going out at night, business owners who had to pay to be able to work, young people who were given weapons before they were given a diploma.
We decided that this should not be the destiny of Ecuador, and we have acted with determination.
However, On this journey, we have learnt something that I have come here to share with you.
7passages
Eswatini · Day 2King Mswati IIIFirstly, can we restore trust in our collective systems?
And secondly, can we manage the great transformations of our time in a way that leaves no country, no person behind?
The United Nations was born in 1945 from humanity's determination that the tragedies of war should never again define our common destiny.
7passages
Spain · Day 2Pedro Sánchez Pérez-CastejónPresident, ladies and gentlemen, I come here to speak to you from this rostrum with but one goal, to defend what so many are trying to destroy.
I have come to defend the principles and ambitions that inspired the creation of this organization 81 years ago, principles and ambitions that different governments present here disregard or seek to dismantle.
Eight years have gone by since I addressed this assembly for the first time, and since then, several things have changed in the world.
7passages
Italy · Day 2Antonio TajaniBut today, the world balance has been disrupted, and history which someone has declared has reached its final chapter, is once again moving at a galloping pace.
But every race needs a finish line.
Our task cannot be to stand and watch passively the fragmentation of our world, but it must be to build a new framework of rules, responsibility, and cooperation capable of governing change.
7passages
Burundi · Day 2Évariste NdayishimiyeHonored the In the name of God, the all-powerful, most merciful, distinguished President of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, ladies and gentlemen, as President of the Republic of Burundi and the current chairperson of the African Union, allow me to first, on behalf of the people of Burundi and of Africa, congratulate His Excellency Dr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, on his election and wish him every success in the fulfillment of his mandate.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations and express my deepest gratitude to His Excellency, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, for the unwavering commitment and dedication he has demonstrated throughout his tenure in the service of peace, security, and sustainable development around the world.
His good offices, exercised with wisdom, humility, and determination, have helped bridge the widest divergences of opinion and provided invaluable support to nations, particularly those in the Global South, in their quest for stability and prosperity.
6passages
Estonia · Day 2Alar KarisMr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Last year, speaking from this podium, I described the United Nations as an idea of a better world.
It is a carefully crafted agreement to safeguard peace and security, promote development and uphold human rights.
I still believe in that promise, enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
6passages
Timor-Leste · Day 2José Ramos-HortaGeneral Assembly, I congratulate you on your election to preside over the 81st session of the General Assembly.
You bring to this house the wisdom of 5 billion people, 60% of the world's population, representing some of the world's oldest and most sophisticated civilizations.
Excellencies, at one time in history, waking up from the horrors of World War II, we were intoxicated with the dreams of a United Nations promising a new dawn for humanity.
6passages
Mozambique · Day 2Daniel Francisco ChapoWe, the people, together, has the most comprehensive expression of our collective responsibility towards the humanity.
81 years ago, In the face of devastation caused by war, the humanity chose cooperation over confrontation, the law over force, and hope over fear.
That promise has shaped generations.
6passages
Czechia · Day 2Petr PavelMr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great honor for me to once again return to this hall to address the 81st session of the General Assembly on behalf of the Czech Republic.
Restoring trust, managing transformation is a fitting theme for this year's session.
It reflects both the scale of the changes our world is undergoing and the need to navigate them peacefully.
5passages
Botswana · Day 2Duma Gideon BokoThe pertinent question is how we strengthen multilateralism so that the United Nations can deliver meaningful results for all member states.
Humanity has traveled far enough to know that on the great challenges of our age, None of us can go it alone.
Whether a nation of a billion people or like Botswana with just over two and a half million people, we share one fragile planet and one imperfect but irreplaceable United Nations.
5passages
Slovakia · Day 2Peter PellegriniAnd when rules are weakened, when cooperation is replaced by confrontation, all of us become more vulnerable.
But we still have a choice.
The international system we have built is not perfect.
5passages
Kenya · Day 2William Samoei RutoSince the year 2000, deaths among children under five have fallen by more than half.
These achievements matter.
They changed borders, ended wars, defeated disease, and transformed lives.
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Montenegro · Day 2Jakov MilatovićDistinguished Mr. President, Excellencies, I do want to congratulate, first of all, Dr. Rahman on his election as President of the United Nations General Assembly, and I also wish to thank Mrs. Baerbock for her leadership of the 80th session of the General Assembly.
And let me also make a special thanks to Secretary-General Guterres, whose stewardship of this organization and partnership with Montenegro over the past decade we deeply value.
It is my great honor to address you today as President of Montenegro.
5passages
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Day 2Judith Suminwa TulukaDuring a decade marked by wars, the pandemic, climate emergencies, and exacerbated geopolitical tensions, he constantly defended peace, human dignity, and international cooperation.
Mr. President, the theme of this session, Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation, the United Nations that delivers for all, expresses perfectly the challenge that we must collectively address to restore the hope that the UN nurtured when it was created.
For the DRC, this session is another occasion to reaffirm its faith in a multilateralism based upon the unwavering quest for peace and justice, which paved the way not to the prosperity of a select few, but to the creation of a true common horizon for peoples and generations of the future.
5passages
Syrian Arab Republic · Day 2Ahmad Al-SharaaWe focused on reconstruction.
We relied on the free will of our people and our independence.
This national vision relied on diplomatic efforts.
4passages
Latvia · Day 2Edgars RinkēvičsMr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Allow me to begin by congratulating you, Dr. Rahman, on your election as President of the General Assembly.
you can count on Latvia's support.
I am looking forward to working together for a stronger United Nations and a safer world.
4passages
Palau · Day 2Surangel WhippsMr. President, congratulations on your successful election as President of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly.
Secretary General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ali, and warm greetings from the people of Palau.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres, thank you for your leadership and service to the United Nations.
4passages
Panama · Day 2José Raúl Mulino QuinteroI'm convinced that the United Nations has immense potential in a world with so much volatility and such strong asymmetries.
But it needs to take up again its leadership in order to engage in preventive actions and corrective actions.
I am a person who believes in and defends multilateralism.
4passages
Ethiopia · Day 2Taye Atske-Selassie AmdeMr. President, we assemble at a historic moment for humanity.
63 years ago, in 1963, Emperor Haile Selassie famously cautioned this global community by stating, "Lasting peace can be achieved only when nations recognize that their true strength lies not in the domination of others, but in cooperation anchored upon a genuine equality.
As a founding member of the United Nations, Ethiopia bears the scars of historical betrayal and the unyielding conviction of a survivor.
4passages
Namibia · Day 2Netumbo Nandi-NdaitwahThose conflicts continue to undermine international mechanisms and the structures established to maintain international peace and security.
Hence, we commend you, Mr. President, for the timely and befitting theme of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, namely, Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation, a United Nation that Delivers for All.
Namibia's independence was born out of international solidarity and is renowned as a UN success story.
4passages
Uganda · Day 2Jessica Rose Epel AlupoAs we convene here today, we must confront the reality of living in very uncertain times, shadowed by the persistent threat of global conflict.
It is imperative that we work together to avert warfare.
We must reflect on the founding principles of the UN Charter and recommit ourselves to saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirming faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity of human person, ensuring equal rights for all large nations and small, establishing conditions for justice and respect for international law, and promoting social progress alongside better standards of life.
4passages
Ukraine · Day 2Volodymyr ZelenskyyTen countries are already part of it: Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Last week, I invited Poland to join.
And we are also in consultations with a couple of other Allied governments who want to join FREIA.
3passages
Rwanda · Day 2Justin NsengiyumvaThis year, under a new call to restore trust and deliver for all, we must be honest with ourselves, we are still far behind.
The United Nations has yet to demonstrate that it can adapt to a changing and uncertain world, and it is up to Member States to make this a reality.
That gap is not abstract to Rwanda.
3passages
Argentina · Day 2Javier Gerardo MileiFirst, what this body should have done and failed to do, second, what it should not have done but did anyway, and third, its position in the face of the advent of artificial intelligence.
78 years ago, this House declared that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, noble words whose spirit I fully share.
To that end, it undertook to uphold international law, defend the sovereignty of nations, and provide a forum in which conflicts could be resolved through cooperation rather than immediately through the force of arms.
2passages
Central African Republic · Day 2Faustin Archange TouaderaThe Pact for the Future has opened a window.
But two years after its adoption, negotiations on Security Council reform are still ongoing.
The decision so urgently needed has yet to be made.
2passages
Poland · Day 2Karol NawrockiIn a world of growing geopolitical rivalry, we need more partnerships that create real value rather than deepening dependencies.
That is why Poland consistently works toward a model of international cooperation that gives countries room to develop, strengthens their resilience, and allows them to make sovereign decisions.
This approach is reflected both in our own regional policy and in our global engagement.
2passages
Guinea · Day 2Mamadi DoumbouyaMr. President of the 81st session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, heads of state and government.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, heads of delegation, ladies and gentlemen.
Mr. President, at the outset, I wish to convey to you on behalf of the sovereign peoples of the Republic of Guinea and our delegation our warmest congratulations upon your election to the presidency of this 81st session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
2passages
Uzbekistan · Day 2Saida MirziyoyevaTherefore, We view peace, development and human dignity not as three separate goals, but as a single, unified task.
Esteemed delegates, today, no nation, however powerful, can address all global problems alone.
None of the threats stop at national borders.
2passages
Iran (Islamic Republic of) · Day 2Masoud PezeshkianWe we invite the world, we call the world, not out of weakness, but out of a deep belief in our own power and steadfastness to cooperate and collaborate because of a deep belief that no one in this region will have security alone.
Either we will build it together, or we will have to live under insecurity together.
We seek to think about a worthy future in which security, fairness, justice, human dignity will become unalienable rights for all people, for all humans.
1passages
Serbia · Day 2Aleksandar VučićOver the past eight decades, states have not come to this building because they share the same interests, but because they understood that the cost of settling disagreements by force of arms was too high.
That is why multilateralism came into being and why we are here today.
Serbia supports the United Nations and reform of the UN system, so that the organization may become more effective and better adapted to today's realities.
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