The outgoing secretary-general used his last General Assembly speech to push for independent AI oversight, Security Council reform, and climate accountability
António Guterres delivered his final address as Secretary-General of the United Nations on September 22, 2026, during the opening of the 81st UN General Assembly session. He called for robust global AI regulation built around a multilateral risk management framework with independent oversight, emphasized ending ongoing conflicts and restoring humanitarian access, pushed for financial accountability from polluters on climate, and called the Security Council’s design “unjust and indefensible” due to its lack of permanent African representation. He received a standing ovation from delegates.
A multilateral framework for AI, not a free-for-all #
The centerpiece of Guterres’ speech was his call for robust global AI regulation built around a multilateral risk management framework with independent oversight. Guterres has been a staunch advocate for implementing safeguards around artificial intelligence since taking office, increasingly vocal about potential existential risks including lethal autonomous weapons systems and the invalidation of human oversight in critical decision-making. His advocacy reached a critical point following the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance held in July 2026.
His emphasis on “independent oversight” targets a specific gap: most existing AI governance proposals, whether from the EU, the US, or China, are national or regional in scope. Guterres argued that AI’s risks don’t respect borders and therefore require a regulatory body that doesn’t either.
Security Council reform and the Africa question #
Guterres called the Security Council’s current design “unjust and indefensible,” specifically targeting the absence of permanent African representation. The Security Council’s five permanent members, the US, UK, France, Russia, and China, each hold veto power under a structure designed in 1945.
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Conflicts and climate: the interconnected crises #
The 81st General Assembly opened against a backdrop of significant global tensions and active conflicts. Guterres called for ending ongoing wars and restoring humanitarian access to affected populations. On climate, he pushed for financial accountability from polluters, positioning himself on the side of developing nations in the “loss and damage” debate over who pays for climate destruction that has already occurred.
Guterres framed conflicts, climate disruption, and technological change as interconnected rather than isolated crises, arguing that resource competition, displacement, and governance failures feed into each other and that treating each in its own silo is a recipe for solving none of them.
What comes after Guterres #
With his second term ending on December 31, 2026, the speech served as both a policy address and a legacy statement. Guterres reiterated his commitment to peace, human dignity, and the rule of law.
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