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
Guyana · Day 3Mohamed Irfaan AliMr. President, I extend my congratulations on your election as President of the 81st session of the General Assembly.
I wish you every success as you undertake this important responsibility at a moment when multilateralism and indeed the United Nations faces profound challenges.
I also express my sincere appreciation to your predecessor for her stewardship over the past year.
11passages
Colombia · Day 3José Manuel Restrepocross borders, its money moves through international financial systems and its networks operate across numerous countries.
I will do everything necessary to combat that scourge, but a transnational threat requires the international community to play its part as well.
Security, while essential, is not enough.
10passages
Barbados · Day 3Mia Amor MottleyThese challenges, my friends, are creating the polycrises of which we constantly speak.
And at the same time, new challenges are emerging.
Artificial intelligence is opening extraordinary possibilities in health, education, science, and productivity, while also creating new risk of exclusion, exploitation, surveillance, and the distortion of truth.
10passages
Australia · Day 3Anthony AlbaneseMy dear colleagues, this evening I want to talk about the need for nations to work together on the new challenges that we face.
climate change, emerging technology, and the breakdown of international rules.
Eight decades ago, the citizens and leaders of our nations made a solemn promise to future generations.
10passages
Madagascar · Day 3Michaël RandrianirinaIn this regard, I wish to reaffirm Madagascar's support and its full readiness to work in a genuine spirit of cooperation to ensure the success of all of our work throughout this session.
Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we must acknowledge that the challenges that we have faced for decades, namely food insecurity, disease, armed conflict, or natural disasters, are still with us.
Thus, for Madagascar, as for many other nations, the new emerging challenges must not overshadow the priorities that still require our attention.
9passages
European Union · Day 3António CostaMr. President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, multilateralism is not an ideal of the past.
It is the only realistic way to address the problems of today.
Alone, no country can prevent a pandemic, stabilize the climate, secure resilient supply chains, regulate artificial intelligence, ensure financial stability, or deliver sustainable development.
8passages
Gambia (Republic of The) · Day 3Mohammed JallowThe Gambia assures you of our full support and constructive cooperation as we guide our collective work under the timely theme you have chosen, restoring trust and managing transformation so that the United Nations can deliver for all.
That theme speaks directly to the moment in which we meet.
Permit me also to express our profound appreciation to your predecessor, Ms. Annalena Baerbock, for the dedication, dignity, and determination with which she presided over the 80th session of the General Assembly.
8passages
Thailand · Day 3Anutin CharnvirakulWe stand ready to work with his successor to carry this work forward.
Mr. President, having a stronger voice in global institutions means countries working together on the problems closest to them.
This is where regional cooperation has a vital role.
7passages
Ireland · Day 3Micheál MartinNarrow self-interest is breaking the bonds of solidarity which have so often lifted us to meaningful progress.
The international legal order is under tremendous strain.
New and emerging technologies that offer unlimited potential could also, without human intervention, create unprecedented dangers.
7passages
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) · Day 3Rodrigo Paz PereiraWe want a long-term relationship with jobs, training, technology, infrastructure, productivity, a future.
That is why Bolivia is open to the world and we want the world to come to Bolivia.
But we are open with dignity.
6passages
Senegal · Day 3Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FayeThere needs to be a wholesale reform of international financial architecture.
There needs to be sustainable debt.
There needs to be equitable taxation and better access to concessional financing.
6passages
Uruguay · Day 3Yamandú OrsiNo one is better than anyone else.
No country holds the absolute truth.
No nation has a monopoly on their solutions.
5passages
Côte d’Ivoire · Day 3Tiémoko Meyliet KonéBefore our very eyes, multilateralism is being sorely tested, weakened by an erosion of trust between nations and trust in the institutions that underpin the world order.
In these times of multilateral fracture, it is imperative to find appropriate solutions to put an end to these dangerous escalations, prioritize dialogue, and rebuild trust.
With regard to international institutions, this trust is measured by their ability to translate the universality of their principles into concrete actions and to treat every state, large or small, with the same standard of fairness.
5passages
South Africa · Day 3Ronald Ozzy LamolaThe end of apartheid also marked the end of a system that exported violence and instability across southern Africa.
Indeed, the fall of apartheid is a glorious story that attests to what multilateralism can deliver.
Since democratic South Africa took its place in this assembly, we have pursued a foreign policy anchored in Ubuntu and international law, dialogue and multilateralism, and in the understanding that our fate is tied to the fortunes of our region and the continent as a whole.
5passages
Somalia · Day 3Hassan Sheikh MohamudMr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor to address the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at the moment of profound uncertainty in our world.
I congratulate His Excellency Khalil Rahman on his election as the President of this session and assure him of Somalia's full support and cooperation.
I also commend Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his continued service to the United Nations and his steadfast in defense of multilateralism.
4passages
Equatorial Guinea · Day 3Teodoro Nguema Obiang MangueMr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the General Assembly; Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Excellencies, Heads of State and Government and Heads of Delegation; Ladies and Gentlemen.
I have the honor to take the floor before this General Assembly on behalf of and representing His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, to express to you his greetings of peace and the greetings of the people of Equatorial Guinea, and to reaffirm our support for and commitment to the Charter of the United Nations.
I congratulate Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election to the presidency of this 81st session.
4passages
Nigeria · Day 3Kashim ShettimaMr. President, the Secretary General of the UN, the Deputy Secretary General, Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I extend my warmest congratulations to you, Mr. President, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on your election as President of the ACP.
session of the United Nations General Assembly and assure you of Nigeria's full cooperation and support.
I commend your predecessor's stewardship of this Assembly.
4passages
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) · Day 3Rob JettenThis week is the perfect example of that.
And I realize that the United Nations does not carry the most positive associations for everyone.
And indeed, there is much that can and must be improved.
4passages
Slovenia · Day 3Janez JanšaDistinguished delegates, Selectivity does more than distort our attention.
Over time, it destroys institutions themselves.
The United Nations cannot defend the rule of law while silently watching its own mandates, procedures, and institutions become instruments of political convenience.
4passages
Nepal · Day 3Balendra ShahWe are not here to turn climate change into another geopolitical battlefield.
We are here to ask everyone to recommit to shared responsibility and solidarity.
Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community has already agreed to the principle of common differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities.
4passages
Austria · Day 3Beate Meinl-ReisingerMr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, There are 193 countries represented in this hall today.
At least I hope so still.
193 states that have signed up to the UN Charter, that have signed up to one essential principle, that relations between states are not governed by sheer power, but by rules.
4passages
Georgia · Day 3Irakli KobakhidzheIn this context, maintaining peace and strengthening international cooperation remain key priorities.
In light of the growing number of global challenges, coordinated responses to common obstacles, conflict prevention, and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are possible only through strengthened international cooperation and their shared commitment to collective action.
Lasting peace cannot be imposed by force, it must be built through communication, and mutual respect.
3passages
Bangladesh · Day 3Tarique RahmanThe people of Bangladesh, who believe in democracy, remain deeply concerned about the plight of the freedom-seeking Palestinian people.
Bangladesh once again reaffirms its unwavering support for their legitimate demands, including their right to self-determination and their right to establish an independent State of Palestine, Mr. President, In the prevailing global circumstances, the theme of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All," is highly relevant and timely.
Bangladesh remains steadfast in its commitment to multilateralism in maintaining international peace and security.
3passages
Greece · Day 3Kyriakos MitsotakisThank you. Thank you, Mr. President.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to address the General Assembly for the eighth time as Prime Minister of Greece, and I do so at a moment of particular importance, as Greece reaches the end of our second year on the UN Security Council.
and is again preparing to assume its presidency next month.
3passages
Zimbabwe · Day 3Emmerson Dambudzo MnangagwaI wish to thank Ms. Annalena Baerbock for her effective leadership of the 80th session and her contribution to the UN80 reform process.
Zimbabwe also pays tribute to Mr. Antonio Guterres in his final general debate as Secretary-General.
We commend his defense of multilateralism as well as efforts to advance dialogue for conflict prevention and resolution, sustainable development, and the pact for the future.
2passages
Ghana · Day 3John Dramani MahamaMister President, Mister Secretary General, your excellencies, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, let me congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
You assume this solemn stewardship at a time of intense geopolitical fragmentation, deepening inequality, and eroded trust in our multilateral system.
Ghana is confident that your proven commitment to inclusive, consultative, and principled dialogue will guide this assembly well.
2passages
Liberia · Day 3Joseph Nyuma BoakaiTrust in multilateralism is broken and needs to be restored, not because the principles of the Charter are no longer relevant, but because we have applied them inconsistently and selectively during global fragmentation.
Our answer So that is a better multilateralism.
80 years ago, Liberia was among the only four nations to sign the charter establishing the United Nations.
2passages
Portugal · Day 3Luís MontenegroThese are shared responsibilities and opportunities that require a collective effort that must unite us all.
Mr. President, Excellencies, despite everything, the United Nations is a political masterpiece of humanity.
It will be constantly evolving and will reflect the decision of its members.
2passages
Fiji · Day 3Ratu Naiqama Tawakecolati LalabalavuI pay tribute also to the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who addresses this General Debate for the last time in that office.
Through a decade of turbulence, he has defended multilateralism and stood with small island developing states, and Fiji thanks him dearly.
Mr. President, the theme of this session is restoring trust and managing transformation.
2passages
Kuwait · Day 3Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-SabahWe would be remiss not to applaud the efforts, good offices, and initiatives of the Secretary-General aimed at strengthening multilateralism and that include initiatives such as UN80 and the Pact for the Future, as well as the ongoing efforts to address global challenges, crises, conflicts, wars, climate change, and terrorism, as well as the efforts to assist member states in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to strengthen international cooperation on artificial intelligence.
We hope that these efforts will continue beyond the conclusion of the Secretary-General's term in a manner to guarantee the continuity of work to reform and develop the organization's bodies enhance its effectiveness and performance in discharging its responsibilities.
In this context, we emphasize that Security Council reform and the Security Council is the body charged with maintaining international peace and security has become essential to keep pace with the significant increase in the number of member states and the changes in international relations since the establishment of the organization.
2passages
Comoros · Day 3Azali AssoumaniFor 81 years, this General Assembly has remained the central pillar of multilateralism.
And now that we're meeting in New York, humanity is at a crossroads.
Despite our efforts, the sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda remain, unfortunately, out of reach.
1passages
Hungary · Day 3András Bálint BakaWe will be a reliable member of the European Union, a committed NATO ally, and an active member of the United Nations.
These partnerships do not take away our freedom, they protect it.
Hungary will defend its national interest, but it will do so as a partner.
1passages
Armenia · Day 3Nikol PashinyanLadies and gentlemen, the balanced and balancing foreign policy adopted by Armenia stems from the logic of multipolarity, which is one of the key principles of the United Nations.
In recent years, we have established strategic relations with Georgia, France, China, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Germany, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom.
1passages