United Nations (UN) secretary-general António Guterres used his final address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, to call for regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), an end to wars and an overhaul of multilateral institutions, which he said “continue to reflect the power realities and interests of a largely bygone age”.

“The fault lines in our world are widening,” he said, citing wars, rising temperatures and AI, and called for “a world built on interdependence”, according to France 24 and Business Day. He urged the countries leading the technological revolution to “share information on emerging safety risks, co-operate on testing and evaluation, and work towards common safeguards” and backed “a multilateral AI risk management framework, supported by credible and independent oversight”. He told the great powers to recognise “that their power isn’t so super” and said “military power alone cannot secure peace”. On the Middle East, he called for “de-escalation and dialogue”: “The fighting must stop. Humanitarian aid must flow. And navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored in accordance with international law.” Guterres leaves office on 31 December 2026, at the end of his second five-year term, and drew a standing ovation as he defended a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and said “polluters must pay”.