UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered his final address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as his second five-year term nears its conclusion on December 31, 2026.

Guterres issued a blunt, urgent warning to the assembled world leaders, stating that global geopolitical divisions have turned from “cracks into canyons” and demanding an end to impunity and double standards

It was a no holds barred message to the largest gathering of world leaders, declaring that there is a limit to superpower dominance. Guterres rebuked the idea that military or economic might alone can dictate global outcomes.

“Your power isn’t so super,” Guterres told superpowers from the podium, warning against a return to a world of “raw power” and spheres of influence. “The fault lines in our world are widening,” he said, pointing to raging wars, rising temperatures, inequality and the unchecked rise of artificial intelligence.

Guterres said recent years have proven that military power alone cannot secure peace, citing conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Iran, Congo and Myanmar as evidence that even the most powerful states have failed to achieve their objectives by force.

“So many that think they are powerful, and that they can achieve certain objectives, in the end are not able to do so, and they fail,” he said. “Today, their weight is much smaller than the power they think they have.”

The Secretary-General called for “a world built on interdependence” sustained by economic, political and technological connections, rather than fragmentation and transactionalism.

“Global problems will not be solved by one power calling the shots, nor will they be solved by two powers carving the world into rival spheres of influence,” Guterres said.

Climate Crisis

He also launched a sharp attack on major oil companies, accusing them of treating the atmosphere like an “open sewer” while posting nearly half a trillion dollars in profits since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Those who polluted the most – and profited the most – must do far more to repair the damage they caused,” he said.

Guterres used his last general debate speech to push for long-overdue reforms of the UN itself, including permanent representation for Africa on the Security Council, which he described as “unjustifiable” to deny.

The high-level week of UNGA81 will see 193 world leaders address the Assembly against a backdrop of escalating wars and questions about whether multilateral diplomacy can still deliver results. He ended with a personal pledge: “I will never, ever give up.”