{"id":7116,"date":"2026-09-23T11:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/?p=7116"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:29:13","slug":"what-world-leaders-have-said-at-unga81-jki-2309","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/in-the-news\/what-world-leaders-have-said-at-unga81-jki-2309\/","title":{"rendered":"United Nations General Assembly 2026: What world leaders have said"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the 81st edition of the United Nations General Assembly continues in New York, world leaders have been speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From calls to defend multilateralism to UN reforms, respect for countries\u2019 sovereignty, and the inclusion of Africa in global governance, the assembly is living up to its billing as the grand theatre of global discourse.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some remarks have been pragmatic, others sensational, and some outright ironic. Here are those that have stood out so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York City, US. | United Nations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General\u2013 Responding to Global Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outgoing UNSG said the fault lines in our world are widening and that cracks have become canyons. He cited the wars that have erupted in the world in the last decade, where \u2018\u2018civilians were targeted, human rights trampled, hunger weaponised, and humanitarian workers killed.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018International law has been cast aside. Geopolitical divides have deepened.   Inequalities have intensified.   Trust has frayed. The climate crisis went from distant warning to daily reality.\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guterres added that these are not separate crises. \u2018\u2018They are chapters of the same story.   The story of power.  Who has it. Who is denied it.  How it is used. And how it is changing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018We are witnessing an extraordinary transfer of power away from governments to a handful of private corporations and individuals. Their reach now extends across politics, economies, information flows, technological development, and the civic space on which societies depend.\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President William Ruto of Kenya at the 2026 UN General Assembly. | United Nations<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WILLIAM RUTO, President of Kenya \u2013 Africa\u2019s Inclusion at the UN Security Council<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018Africa cannot remain the only continent without permanent representation in the institution entrusted with international peace and security,\u2019\u2019 President Ruto said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u2018\u2018A continent of 54 countries and more than 1.4bn people cannot remain at the margins of decisions central to global peace and security.\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018International Law cannot be a shield for some and a restraint for others. Defending the [UN] Charter doesn\u2019t mean defending every institutional arrangement created 80 years ago,\u2019\u2019<\/strong> Ruto noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIA MOTLEY, Prime Minister, Barbados \u2013 Sovereignty of nations and reforming the world order  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018The post-independence movement of the post-World War II era was intended to give us opportunity and choices. Regrettably, those are being taken from us, without our participation, without our input.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mottley says that, after the US\u2019s incursion in Venezuela, it became clear that small nations like Barbados can only survive in a rule-based order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley, at the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2026. | United Nations<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018That\u2019s why we have called consistently for global moral strategic leadership. Moral because it matters where we stand. Strategic because we need to be able to contextualise where the world is,\u2019\u2019<\/strong> the PM adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To her, \u2018\u2018Global institutions still reflect the structure, the structure reflects the interests, and the Charter reflects issues that were universal in time and nature, but others by their omission, aren\u2019t addressing the needs of the world in which we live.\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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US President Donald Trump addressing world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81). | STOCK<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DONALD TRUMP, US President \u2013 Defending Nationalism<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018As President of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester; they only become harder to solve.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018While others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them. While others have talked of courage, America has shown it.\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Trump has also taken aim at UNESCO, accusing the institution of \u2018\u2018ceaseless promotion of mass migration\u2019\u2019 and \u2018\u2018actively destroying\u2019\u2019 the greatest cultures and most extraordinary heritage in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018There is no human right to illegal immigration, but there is a right to remain a sovereign nation.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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French President Emmanuel Macron addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2026. | STOCK<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EMMANUEL MACRON, President of France \u2013 Protecting Multilateralism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018Do we want to live under this state of affairs \u2014 with a return to the law of the jungle \u2014 or do we want to live in a civilised international society?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron called for a revival of multilateralism to \u201ctackle common challenges together\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Geneva Convention is being dismantled\u2026There cannot be peace without justice,\u201d<\/strong> President Macron said, adding that France supports the International Court of Justice.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cWe simply cannot accept this new order of impunity which some are trying to erect.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year, respected institutions such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Ember publish increasingly optimistic findings demonstrating that renewable energy costs continue to fall. They are correct. Utility-scale renewable electricity has become remarkably cheap. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":7117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[25],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-7116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-news","tag-energy-transition"],"acf":{"url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9517,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7116\/revisions\/9517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7116"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=7116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}