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World leaders converged on New York this week for the opening of the 81st UN General Assembly, and the session carried extra weight: it is the last one Antonio Guterres will open as Secretary-General before his second term ends. The UN General Assembly Guterres opening drew a call for “a world built on interdependence,” as he used his final address to press leaders on climate change, conflict and the rise of artificial intelligence.
What Guterres told the UN General Assembly Guterres session
Guterres opened the General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 22, delivering his annual report and final address before UNGA President Khalilur Rahman formally opened the debate. He pleaded for greater global cooperation, framing the challenges facing the UN, climate change, war, inequality and artificial intelligence, as a “formidable menu” that no country can manage alone. It was a valedictory tone from a Secretary-General whose second and final term ends on December 31, 2026.
A packed podium on day one
Guterres was followed at the podium by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, each addressing a different slice of the same agenda. Macron used his remarks to argue there could be “no peace without justice,” a line aimed squarely at ongoing conflicts still unresolved on the Security Council’s docket. The juxtaposition of speakers, an outgoing UN chief followed immediately by heads of state jockeying over the institution’s future direction, set the tone for a High-Level Week already being described as unusually consequential.
Why this General Assembly carries extra stakes
Beyond the substantive agenda, this session doubles as the informal start of the race to succeed Guterres. Diplomats in New York have spent the run-up to the session gauging support for potential successors, even though no formal selection has been made. That undercurrent shaped how closely delegations listened to Guterres’s closing arguments, treating them less as routine remarks and more as an attempt to set the agenda his successor will inherit.
What happens through the rest of the week
The general debate runs through Saturday, September 26, before resuming on Monday, September 28, with dozens more heads of state and government scheduled to speak. Side meetings on climate finance, AI governance and Middle East diplomacy are expected to run in parallel with the formal floor speeches, as they typically do during General Assembly week. Guterres is expected to remain active in select side events even as the floor debate shifts to other leaders.
Climate and conflict dominate the substantive agenda
Beyond the diplomatic theater of who speaks when, the substance of this year’s General Assembly centers on a familiar but unresolved list: stalled climate finance commitments, active conflicts across multiple regions that the Security Council has struggled to address, and rising economic inequality between wealthy and developing nations. Guterres devoted a significant portion of his address to each, framing them not as separate crises but as symptoms of the same underlying failure of international cooperation that has defined much of his tenure. Delegates from smaller nations have used the opening days to press for concrete funding commitments rather than renewed rhetorical pledges, a frustration that has grown louder in recent General Assembly sessions.
The undercurrent shaping every hallway conversation
Diplomats gathered in New York are also quietly positioning for what comes after Guterres. His second term ends December 31, 2026, and while no successor has been formally chosen, informal soundings among member states have already begun. That race adds a layer of strategic calculation to speeches that might otherwise read as routine, since delegations are listening for signals about which candidates carry support from key blocs, and which policy priorities a new Secretary-General might inherit or abandon.
The agenda items competing for attention
Climate finance, artificial intelligence governance and Middle East diplomacy are all vying for space on a crowded week of side events running alongside the formal floor speeches. Guterres used part of his address to argue that AI oversight can no longer be treated as a secondary issue behind traditional security concerns, framing it as core to the interdependence he called for. Delegations from smaller and developing nations have used side sessions to press wealthier member states on climate finance commitments that have repeatedly fallen short of pledged targets in recent years, a tension likely to resurface throughout the week’s remaining sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Guterres say in his final address?
He called for ‘a world built on interdependence,’ urging cooperation on climate change, conflict, inequality and the rise of artificial intelligence as his second and final term as UN Secretary-General nears its end.
When does Guterres’s term end?
His second term as UN Secretary-General ends on December 31, 2026, making this his last General Assembly opening as the sitting chief of the UN.
Who spoke after Guterres?
UNGA President Khalilur Rahman formally opened the debate, followed at the podium by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
How long does the General Assembly debate run?
The high-level debate opened Tuesday, September 22, and runs through Saturday, September 26, before resuming Monday, September 28.
Is a new Secretary-General being chosen this session?
The race to succeed Guterres is part of the backdrop to this year’s session, though no successor had been formally selected as world leaders gathered in New York.
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Sources
- UN News — The world comes to New York: What’s at stake this General Assembly High-Level Week. https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168344
- Al Jazeera — UN General Assembly 2026: When is it, who is speaking and when?. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/22/un-general-assembly-2026-when-is-it-who-is-speaking-and-when
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