UN SG Guterres New Year Speech at UNGA Delivered 7th February 2024

1. Secretary-General's remarks to the
General Assembly on Priorities for
2024 [scroll down for bilingual,
as-delivered; all-English version]
António Guterres, Secretary-General
[Bilingual, as delivered]
Mr. President of the General Assembly, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me begin by extending my very best wishes for 2024.
I wish health and happiness for you and your families -- and peace for our world.
Our organization was founded on the pursuit of peace.
Peace is our raison d’être.
Yet as I scan the landscape of today’s world, the one thing missing most dramatically is
peace.
And by that, I mean peace in all its dimensions.
As conflicts rage and geopolitical divisions grow, peace in our world is threatened.
As polarization deepens and human rights are trampled, peace within communities is
undermined.
As inequalities explode, peace with justice is shattered.
As we continue our addiction to fossil fuels, we make a mockery of any notion of peace
with nature.
Around the globe, and across the range of issues, peace is the missing piece.

2. People want peace and security.
People want peace and dignity.
And, frankly, they want peace and quiet.
There is so much anger and hate and noise in our world today.
Every day and at every turn, it seems – it’s war.
Terrible conflicts that are killing and maiming civilians in record numbers.
Wars of words. Turf wars. Culture wars.
So many peddling the perverse math that says you multiply support by dividing people.
This is especially troubling in a year when half of humanity will go to the polls.
Meanwhile, more and more families are falling behind.
More and more countries are drowning in debt.
More and more people are losing trust in institutions and faith in the political process.
Peace is the way out of these interlinked crises.
Peace is more than a noble vision.
Peace is a rallying cry. It is a call to action.
Our obligation is to act together for peace in all its dimensions.
Excellencies,
Despite the turbulence of our times, there are reasons for hope.
At the SDG Summit, world leaders endorsed an SDG Stimulus and the need for
far-reaching reforms of the international financial architecture.

3. Countries also reached agreement last year on the High Seas Treaty to protect precious
marine biodiversity from pollution and overfishing.
We are making some headway on climate justice. The Loss and Damage Fund –
provided that it is well-resourced – will help vulnerable countries recover from the
impacts of extreme weather.
The Security Council agreed to our years-long call to back peace enforcement and
counter-terrorism operations led by regional partners, notably the African Union, with
mandates from the Council and supported by assessed contributions.
The new High Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence launched a global
conversation on how this all-pervading technology can benefit us all.
Looking ahead, at the Summit of the Future in September, we have a chance to shape
multilateralism for years to come.
And indeed our world badly needs:
Reform of the Security Council.
Reform of the international financial system.
The meaningful engagement of youth in decision-making.
A Global Digital Compact to maximize the benefits of new technologies and minimize
the risks.
An emergency platform to improve the international response to complex global
shocks.
I see a truly dynamic effort to build a more effective, inclusive and renewed
multilateralism tuned to the 21st century and our increasingly multipolar world.
And you are at the heart of this essential effort.
And peace is at the heart of all we do.
Excellencies,

4. For millions of people caught up in conflict around the world, life is a deadly, daily,
hungry hell.
Record numbers are fleeing their homes in search of safety.
They are crying out for peace.
We must hear them, and act.
In the immediate term, we must continue to push for peace across the globe.
The situation in Gaza is a festering wound on our collective conscience that threatens
the entire region.
Nothing justifies the horrific terror attacks launched by Hamas against Israel on 7
October.
Nor is there any justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Yet, Israeli military operations have resulted in destruction and death in Gaza at a scale
and speed without parallel since I became Secretary-General.
I am especially alarmed by reports that the Israeli military intends to focus next on
Rafah – where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been squeezed in a
desperate search for safety.
Such an action would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare
with untold regional consequences.
It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional
release of all hostages.
This must rapidly lead to irreversible actions towards a two-state solution, based on
United Nations resolutions, international law and previous agreements.
In Ukraine, I repeat my call for a just and sustainable peace, in line with the UN Charter
and international law -- for Ukraine, for Russia and for the world.

5. In a swathe of countries across the Sahel, terrorism is spiking, and civilians are paying a
terrible price. We will not relent in supporting the people of the Sahel in these troubling
times.
Collective action is essential in the Horn of Africa to consolidate the hard-won gains
against Al Shabaab and to preserve the fundamental principle of territorial integrity
avoiding new crises.
The fighting must stop in Sudan before it destroys even more lives and spreads.
In Libya, while a ceasefire holds, the Libyan people deserve sustained peace and
stability, starting with a commitment to free and fair elections.
In eastern Democratic Republic of [the] Congo, I call on all armed groups to lay down
their weapons and I urge regional leaders to prioritize dialogue.
In Yemen, I appeal to all parties to focus on the path to peace and also to de-escalate
tensions in the Red Sea based on the principle of freedom of navigation.
In Myanmar, we need sustained international and regional attention to help urgently
forge a path towards a democratic transition and return to civilian rule.
In Haiti, lawlessness is surging and millions face acute food insecurity. The
Multinational Security Support mission must be deployed without delay and I hope all
obstacles will be removed, and I also urge Member States to provide the necessary
financial support.
And in the western Balkans, some leaders continue to stoke tensions and
ethno-nationalistic rhetoric. I urge action for reconciliation, stability and economic
prosperity across the region.
Excellencies,
If countries fulfilled their obligations under the Charter, every person’s right to a life of
peace and dignity would be guaranteed.
But governments are ignoring and undermining the very tenets of multilateralism – with
zero accountability.

6. The United Nations Security Council – the primary platform for questions of global
peace – is deadlocked by geopolitical fissures.
This is not the first time the Council has been divided.
But it is the worst.
Today’s dysfunction is deeper and more dangerous.
During the Cold War, well-established mechanisms helped manage superpower
relations.
In today’s multipolar world, such mechanisms are missing.
And so our world is entering an age of chaos.
We are seeing the results: a dangerous and unpredictable free-for-all with total impunity.
After decades of nuclear disarmament, states are competing to make their nuclear
arsenals faster, stealthier and more accurate.
New potential domains of conflict, and weapons of war, are being developed without
guardrails, creating new ways to kill each other – and for humanity to annihilate itself.
As conflicts proliferate, global humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, but funding is
not keeping pace.
Humanitarian workers are saving lives and easing suffering around the world.
I pay tribute to their heroic efforts and to those aid workers who have paid the ultimate
price, most recently and tragically in Gaza.
Excellencies,
We need to strengthen and renew global peace and security frameworks to deal with the
complexities of today’s multipolar world.
That is the rationale for our New Agenda for Peace.

7. First and foremost, the United Nations Security Council must be able to take decisions
and implement them. And it must become more representative.
It is totally unacceptable that the African continent is still waiting for a permanent seat.
The Council’s working methods must also be updated so that it can make progress –
even when Members are sharply divided.
The New Agenda for Peace addresses strategic risks through a recommitment to
eliminating nuclear weapons and stepped-up efforts to prevent conflict.
It proposes measures to mitigate the impact of geopolitical competition on people and
prevent the fragmentation of global trade rules, supply chains, currencies and the
internet.
It presents a view of prevention that addresses violence in all its forms and at all levels.
It recognizes the links between sustainable development, climate action, and peace; and
it calls for the transformation of gendered power dynamics; the meaningful inclusion of
women and young people in all peace processes; and respect for all human rights: civil,
political, economic, social and cultural.
It underscores the need for peacekeeping missions with realistic mandates and
well-defined transition and exit strategies.
And it urges the development of norms and frameworks to regulate the use of new
technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, in the military domain.
Excellences,
Nous avons également besoin de paix au sein même des communautés.
Partout dans le monde, nous voyons des populations divisées par la montée des
discours de haine, de la discrimination, de l’extrémisme et des atteintes aux droits
humains.
L’antisémitisme, le sectarisme antimusulman, la persécution des minorités chrétiennes
et l’idéologie suprémaciste blanche sont en hausse.
L’autoritarisme se répand. L’espace civique rétrécit. Les médias sont attaqués.

8. La discrimination à l’égard des femmes et des filles et la violence sexuelle et sexiste
constituent les atteintes aux droits humains les plus répandues dans le monde.
Je vois deux raisons fondamentales à cette situation généralisée .
Premièrement, la vitesse et la portée de la désinformation et de la haine ont augmenté
de façon exponentielle à l’ère numérique. La recherche du profit a aidé les extrémistes à
semer la division.
Deuxièmement, les inégalités – réelles ou ressenties, les privations économiques ainsi
que les changements sociaux et économiques rapides nourrissent les peurs des
populations.
Bien que le niveau de vie global dans le monde soit plus élevé que jamais, six personnes
sur sept déclarent se sentir inquiètes et craindre pour leur avenir.
L’Organisation des Nations Unies soutient les efforts visant à décupler les
investissements en faveur de la cohésion sociale et prioriser la sécurité de chaque
personne.
C’est pour cela que nous appelons au renouvellement du contrat social, fondé sur la
confiance, la justice et l’inclusion et ancré dans les droits humains.
Nous faisons progresser mon Appel à l’action en faveur des droits humains.
Nous œuvrons pour une pleine participation des femmes, sur un pied d’égalité, et leur
leadership à tous les secteurs de la société – et ce, de toute urgence.
Et nous faisons pression sur les entreprises technologiques afin qu’elles assument leurs
responsabilités en cessant d’amplifier et de te tirer profit de la propagation d’une
désinformation toxique et d’autres contenus nuisibles.
Notre prochain code de conduite pour l’intégrité de l’information, qui sera publié avant le
Sommet de l’avenir, aidera les décideurs à faire de l’espace numérique un endroit
inclusif et plus sûr pour tous, tout en défendant le droit à la liberté d’expression.
Tous les dirigeants ont la responsabilité de veiller à ce que les populations se sentent
incluses et représentées ; à ce que la diversité soit pleinement reconnue comme une
force ; et à ce que chaque communauté se sente valorisée et occupe une place à part
entière dans la société.
Excellencies,
Beyond tensions in the world and within communities, we need peace with justice.

9. Inequalities and injustice are fuel for a world at war with itself.
And conflicts are stoking further inequalities and injustice.
Take the tale of two canals.
Trade via the Suez Canal is down by 42 percent, since the start of Houthi attacks on
shipping in the Red Sea more than three months ago.
Trade via the Panama Canal is down 36 percent in the past month, because of low water
levels – a byproduct of the climate crisis.
Whether the cause is conflict or climate, the result is the same: disruption to global
supply chains and increased costs for everybody.
Developing economies are particularly vulnerable to these disruptions.
Sustainable, inclusive development hinges on peace.
And delivering the Sustainable Development Goals is our most effective way of building
peace and prosperity.
Yet we face a development emergency.
The seismic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic was followed by a sharp acceleration in
global tensions – and global prices – when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Developing economies were sent reeling. Many still are.
Today’s global economic outlook largely ignores the elephant in the room: developing
countries are experiencing their worst half-decade since the early 1990s.
Many face unpayable debt service costs, which are now at record levels.
The world’s poorest countries will owe more in debt service this year than their public
spending on health, education, and infrastructure combined.
Meanwhile, governments are being forced to cut back on investments and essential

10. services.
All these issues will be on the agenda at the Fourth International Conference on Small
Island Developing States in May, and the Third [International] Conference on Landlocked
Developing Countries in June.
Excellencies,
To keep the promise of the SDGs, we need progress in two crucial areas.
First, finance. We are pushing for an SDG Stimulus of 500 billion US dollars annually in
affordable long-term finance for developing countries.
The SDG Stimulus calls for urgent action on debt, including breathing space for
countries facing impossible repayment schedules.
I have invited a small number of Heads of State to work with me to make the Stimulus a
reality.
With your support, we can significantly and immediately increase the capital and
capacity of Multilateral Development Banks and help get developing economies back on
track. Positive steps have been made by the leaders of the banks, but there is a long
way to go.
Second, we must keep working to usher in a new Bretton Woods moment, with an
international financial architecture that responds to the needs of all countries.
Today’s architecture is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.
It favours the rich countries that designed it nearly 80 years ago.
It fails to offer countries the affordable finance required to meet our shared goals.
And it does not fulfil the basic foundation unction of providing a financial safety net for
all developing countries.
The Summit of the Future will consider the need for deep reforms to make financial
institutions and frameworks truly universal and inclusive.

11. Excellencies,
We must also harness the power of technology to advance the Sustainable
Development Goals.
From healthcare to education, from climate action to food systems, generative Artificial
Intelligence is the most important potential tool to build inclusive, green, sustainable
economies and societies.
But AI is already creating risks around disinformation, privacy, and bias.
It is concentrated in very few companies – and even fewer countries.
Technology must reduce inequalities, not reproduce them – or pit people against each
other.
AI will affect all of humankind, so we need a universal approach to deal with it.
Our Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence reflects the central convening role of the
United Nations – bringing together governments, private companies, academia and civil
society.
The Body’s recommendations will feed into the Global Digital Compact proposed for
adoption at the Summit of the Future.
We must move fast, be creative, and work together to ensure adequate guardrails and
ethical standards, promote transparency, and build capacities in developing countries.
Artificial Intelligence must not replace human agency.
It was created by humans and must always be under human control.
Excellencies,
We must also make peace with the planet.
Humanity has waged a war we can only lose: our war with nature.
It is a crazy fight to pick.

12. We are detonating systems that sustain us:
Spewing out emissions causing our climate to implode; poisoning land, sea and air with
pollution, and decimating biodiversity, causing ecosystems to collapse.
We have many important milestones, including: October’s UN Biodiversity Conference,
November’s COP29, and December’s Conference on the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification.
Excellencies,
The climate crisis remains the defining challenge of our time.
The coming years will largely determine whether we can limit global temperature rise to
1.5 degrees.
To stay within that limit, we must cut emissions 45 percent by 2030, compared with
2010 levels. And we need emissions to have peaked by 2025.
The good news is, we have never been better equipped to prevent climate breakdown.
And the benefits of renewables are clearer every year.
We must seize the momentum by taking action in three areas: Nationally Determined
Contributions; phasing out fossil fuels; and finance.
By 2025, every country must commit to new national climate plans aligned with the
1.5-degree limit.
I am mobilizing the entire UN system to assist countries to do so.
New national plans should cover all emissions and sectors.
They should map a just transition to clean energy.
And they must be backed-up by robust policies and regulations – from an effective
carbon price, to ending fossil fuel subsidies.
For developing countries, this is a chance to create national climate plans that double

13. as national transition plans and national investment plans:
To attract capital and investments; to chart a just transition to a net zero future; and to
underpin sustainable development for generations to come.
For the G20, this is an opportunity to show true leadership on the global stage by
accelerating a just, equitable fossil fuel phase-out.
Excellencies,
The fossil fuel era is on its last legs.
The renewable energy revolution is unstoppable.
But we must act this year to ensure that the transition is just for people and planet –
and that it will be fast enough to prevent full-on climate catastrophe,
That requires tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency
by 2030 – as agreed at COP28.
It means working to ensure the production and trade of minerals critical to the energy
transitions are just, sustainable and provide maximum added value in the countries
supplying the raw materials in the first place. Developing countries must not be only
producers of raw materials; they must be much higher in the level of capacity to
transform them.
The Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals will develop voluntary principles by the
end of the year.
Excellencies,
A just transition means urgent action to unlock the finance developing countries need to
leapfrog fossil fuel dependence while bringing clean power to all.
Our Climate Solidarity Pact urges big emitters to make extra efforts to cut emissions
and wealthier countries to support emerging economies to do so.
I urge countries to put it into effect.

14. And I welcome Brazil’s commitment to bring climate and finance discussions together
as G20 President.
At a minimum, developed countries must clarify the delivery of the $100 billion, and
explain how they will double adaptation funding, to at least $40 billion a year, by 2025.
At COP29, all countries must agree on an ambitious new climate finance goal.
We should explore innovative sources of climate finance.
And the Loss and Damage Fund must be up and running as quickly as possible – and
with significant contributions.
Countries on the frontline of climate chaos are entitled to far greater support.
Excellencies,
This is a full agenda.
In one form or another, every element connects to the most essential of all human
endeavours: the pursuit of peace.
Peace can achieve wonders that wars never will.
Wars destroy.
Peace builds.
But in today’s troubled world, building peace is a conscious, bold and even radical act.
It is humanity’s greatest responsibility.
And that responsibility belongs to us all – individually and collectively.
In this difficult and divided moment, let’s meet that obligation for today and future
generations.
Starting here. Starting now.
For my part, I can guarantee that I will never give up fighting for peace.

15. Thank you.
*****
[all-English]
Mr. President of the General Assembly, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me begin by extending my very best wishes for 2024.
I wish health and happiness for you and your families -- and peace for our world.
Our organization was founded on the pursuit of peace.
Peace is our raison d’être.
Yet as I scan the landscape of today’s world, the one thing missing most dramatically is
peace.
And by that, I mean peace in all its dimensions.
As conflicts rage and geopolitical divisions grow, peace in our world is threatened.
As polarization deepens and human rights are trampled, peace within communities is
undermined.
As inequalities explode, peace with justice is shattered.
As we continue our addiction to fossil fuels, we make a mockery of any notion of peace
with nature.
Around the globe, and across the range of issues, peace is the missing piece.
People want peace and security.
People want peace and dignity.
And, frankly, they want peace and quiet.
There is so much anger and hate and noise in our world today.

16. Every day and at every turn, it seems – it’s war.
Terrible conflicts that are killing and maiming civilians in record numbers.
Wars of words. Turf wars. Culture wars.
So many peddling the perverse math that says you multiply support by dividing people.
This is especially troubling in a year when half of humanity will go to the polls.
Meanwhile, more and more families are falling behind.
More and more countries are drowning in debt.
More and more people are losing trust in institutions and faith in the political process.
Peace is the way out of these interlinked crises.
Peace is more than a noble vision.
Peace is a rallying cry. It is a call to action.
Our obligation is to act together for peace in all its dimensions.
Excellencies,
Despite the turbulence of our times, there are reasons for hope.
At the SDG Summit, world leaders endorsed an SDG Stimulus and the need for
far-reaching reforms of the international financial architecture.
Countries also reached agreement last year on the High Seas Treaty to protect precious
marine biodiversity from pollution and overfishing.
We are making some headway on climate justice. The Loss and Damage Fund –
provided that it is well-resourced – will help vulnerable countries recover from the
impacts of extreme weather.

17. The Security Council agreed to our years-long call to back peace enforcement and
counter-terrorism operations led by regional partners, notably the African Union, with
mandates from the Council and supported by assessed contributions.
The new High Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence launched a global
conversation on how this all-pervading technology can benefit us all.
Looking ahead, at the Summit of the Future in September, we have a chance to shape
multilateralism for years to come.
And indeed our world badly needs:
Reform of the Security Council.
Reform of the international financial system.
The meaningful engagement of youth in decision-making.
A Global Digital Compact to maximize the benefits of new technologies and minimize
the risks.
An emergency platform to improve the international response to complex global
shocks.
I see a truly dynamic effort to build a more effective, inclusive and renewed
multilateralism tuned to the 21st century and our increasingly multipolar world.
And you are at the heart of this essential effort.
And peace is at the heart of all we do.
Excellencies,
For millions of people caught up in conflict around the world, life is a deadly, daily,
hungry hell.
Record numbers are fleeing their homes in search of safety.
They are crying out for peace.

18. We must hear them, and act.
In the immediate term, we must continue to push for peace across the globe.
The situation in Gaza is a festering wound on our collective conscience that threatens
the entire region.
Nothing justifies the horrific terror attacks launched by Hamas against Israel on 7
October.
Nor is there any justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Yet, Israeli military operations have resulted in destruction and death in Gaza at a scale
and speed without parallel since I became Secretary-General.
I am especially alarmed by reports that the Israeli military intends to focus next on
Rafah – where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been squeezed in a
desperate search for safety.
Such an action would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare
with untold regional consequences.
It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional
release of all hostages.
This must rapidly lead to irreversible actions towards a two-state solution, based on
United Nations resolutions, international law and previous agreements.
In Ukraine, I repeat my call for a just and sustainable peace, in line with the UN Charter
and international law -- for Ukraine, for Russia and for the world.
In a swathe of countries across the Sahel, terrorism is spiking, and civilians are paying a
terrible price. We will not relent in supporting the people of the Sahel in these troubling
times.
Collective action is essential in the Horn of Africa to consolidate the hard-won gains
against Al Shabaab and to preserve the fundamental principle of territorial integrity
avoiding new crises.

19. The fighting must stop in Sudan before it destroys even more lives and spreads.
In Libya, while a ceasefire holds, the Libyan people deserve sustained peace and
stability, starting with a commitment to free and fair elections.
In eastern Democratic Republic of [the] Congo, I call on all armed groups to lay down
their weapons and I urge regional leaders to prioritize dialogue.
In Yemen, I appeal to all parties to focus on the path to peace and also to de-escalate
tensions in the Red Sea based on the principle of freedom of navigation.
In Myanmar, we need sustained international and regional attention to help urgently
forge a path towards a democratic transition and return to civilian rule.
In Haiti, lawlessness is surging and millions face acute food insecurity. The
Multinational Security Support mission must be deployed without delay and I hope all
obstacles will be removed, and I also urge Member States to provide the necessary
financial support.
And in the western Balkans, some leaders continue to stoke tensions and
ethno-nationalistic rhetoric. I urge action for reconciliation, stability and economic
prosperity across the region.
Excellencies,
If countries fulfilled their obligations under the Charter, every person’s right to a life of
peace and dignity would be guaranteed.
But governments are ignoring and undermining the very tenets of multilateralism – with
zero accountability.
The United Nations Security Council – the primary platform for questions of global
peace – is deadlocked by geopolitical fissures.
This is not the first time the Council has been divided.
But it is the worst.

20. Today’s dysfunction is deeper and more dangerous.
During the Cold War, well-established mechanisms helped manage superpower
relations.
In today’s multipolar world, such mechanisms are missing.
And so our world is entering an age of chaos.
We are seeing the results: a dangerous and unpredictable free-for-all with total impunity.
After decades of nuclear disarmament, states are competing to make their nuclear
arsenals faster, stealthier and more accurate.
New potential domains of conflict, and weapons of war, are being developed without
guardrails, creating new ways to kill each other – and for humanity to annihilate itself.
As conflicts proliferate, global humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, but funding is
not keeping pace.
Humanitarian workers are saving lives and easing suffering around the world.
I pay tribute to their heroic efforts and to those aid workers who have paid the ultimate
price, most recently and tragically in Gaza.
Excellencies,
We need to strengthen and renew global peace and security frameworks to deal with the
complexities of today’s multipolar world.
That is the rationale for our New Agenda for Peace.
First and foremost, the United Nations Security Council must be able to take decisions
and implement them. And it must become more representative.
It is totally unacceptable that the African continent is still waiting for a permanent seat.
The Council’s working methods must also be updated so that it can make progress –
even when Members are sharply divided.

21. The New Agenda for Peace addresses strategic risks through a recommitment to
eliminating nuclear weapons and stepped-up efforts to prevent conflict.
It proposes measures to mitigate the impact of geopolitical competition on people and
prevent the fragmentation of global trade rules, supply chains, currencies and the
internet.
It presents a view of prevention that addresses violence in all its forms and at all levels.
It recognizes the links between sustainable development, climate action, and peace; and
it calls for the transformation of gendered power dynamics; the meaningful inclusion of
women and young people in all peace processes; and respect for all human rights: civil,
political, economic, social and cultural.
It underscores the need for peacekeeping missions with realistic mandates and
well-defined transition and exit strategies.
And it urges the development of norms and frameworks to regulate the use of new
technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, in the military domain.
Excellencies,
We also need peace within communities.
Around the world, we are seeing communities divided by rising hate speech,
discrimination, extremism and human rights abuses.
Antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, the persecution of minority Christian communities
and white supremacist ideology are on the rise.
Authoritarianism is growing. Civic space is shrinking. The media is under attack.
Discrimination against women and girls, and gender-based violence, are the most
widespread human rights abuses in our world.
I see two fundamental reasons for all of this.
First, the speed and reach of disinformation and hate has increased exponentially in the
digital age. The pursuit of profit has helped extremists to sow division.

22. Second, real and perceived inequalities, economic deprivation, and rapid social and
economic change are feeding people’s fears.
Global standards of living may be higher than ever, but six out of seven people around
the world report feeling anxious and fearful about their future.
The United Nations is supporting efforts to maximize investments in social cohesion
and prioritize the security of every individual.
That is why we are calling for a renewed social contract, based on trust, justice and
inclusion and anchored in human rights.
We are advancing my Call to Action for Human Rights.
We are promoting women’s full and equal participation and leadership in all sectors of
society, as a matter of urgency.
And we are pressing tech companies to assume their responsibility to stop amplifying
and capitalizing on the spread of toxic disinformation and other harmful content.
Our forthcoming code of conduct for information integrity, to be published ahead of the
Summit of the Future, will help guide decisionmakers to make the digital space inclusive
and safer for all, while defending the right to freedom of expression.
Leaders across the board have a responsibility to ensure that people feel included and
represented; that diversity is fully recognized as a strength; and that every community
feels valued in itself, and enjoys a full place in society as a whole.
Excellencies,
Beyond tensions in the world and within communities, we need peace with justice.
Inequalities and injustice are fuel for a world at war with itself.
And conflicts are stoking further inequalities and injustice.
Take the tale of two canals.
Trade via the Suez Canal is down by 42 percent, since the start of Houthi attacks on
shipping in the Red Sea more than three months ago.
Trade via the Panama Canal is down 36 percent in the past month, because of low water

23. levels – a byproduct of the climate crisis.
Whether the cause is conflict or climate, the result is the same: disruption to global
supply chains and increased costs for everybody.
Developing economies are particularly vulnerable to these disruptions.
Sustainable, inclusive development hinges on peace.
And delivering the Sustainable Development Goals is our most effective way of building
peace and prosperity.
Yet we face a development emergency.
The seismic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic was followed by a sharp acceleration in
global tensions – and global prices – when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Developing economies were sent reeling. Many still are.
Today’s global economic outlook largely ignores the elephant in the room: developing
countries are experiencing their worst half-decade since the early 1990s.
Many face unpayable debt service costs, which are now at record levels.
The world’s poorest countries will owe more in debt service this year than their public
spending on health, education, and infrastructure combined.
Meanwhile, governments are being forced to cut back on investments and essential
services.
All these issues will be on the agenda at the Fourth International Conference on Small
Island Developing States in May, and the Third [International] Conference on Landlocked
Developing Countries in June.
Excellencies,
To keep the promise of the SDGs, we need progress in two crucial areas.
First, finance. We are pushing for an SDG Stimulus of 500 billion US dollars annually in

24. affordable long-term finance for developing countries.
The SDG Stimulus calls for urgent action on debt, including breathing space for
countries facing impossible repayment schedules.
I have invited a small number of Heads of State to work with me to make the Stimulus a
reality.
With your support, we can significantly and immediately increase the capital and
capacity of Multilateral Development Banks and help get developing economies back on
track. Positive steps have been made by the leaders of the banks, but there is a long
way to go.
Second, we must keep working to usher in a new Bretton Woods moment, with an
international financial architecture that responds to the needs of all countries.
Today’s architecture is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.
It favours the rich countries that designed it nearly 80 years ago.
It fails to offer countries the affordable finance required to meet our shared goals.
And it does not fulfil the basic foundation unction of providing a financial safety net for
all developing countries.
The Summit of the Future will consider the need for deep reforms to make financial
institutions and frameworks truly universal and inclusive.
Excellencies,
We must also harness the power of technology to advance the Sustainable
Development Goals.
From healthcare to education, from climate action to food systems, generative Artificial
Intelligence is the most important potential tool to build inclusive, green, sustainable
economies and societies.
But AI is already creating risks around disinformation, privacy, and bias.

25. It is concentrated in very few companies – and even fewer countries.
Technology must reduce inequalities, not reproduce them – or pit people against each
other.
AI will affect all of humankind, so we need a universal approach to deal with it.
Our Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence reflects the central convening role of the
United Nations – bringing together governments, private companies, academia and civil
society.
The Body’s recommendations will feed into the Global Digital Compact proposed for
adoption at the Summit of the Future.
We must move fast, be creative, and work together to ensure adequate guardrails and
ethical standards, promote transparency, and build capacities in developing countries.
Artificial Intelligence must not replace human agency.
It was created by humans and must always be under human control.
Excellencies,
We must also make peace with the planet.
Humanity has waged a war we can only lose: our war with nature.
It is a crazy fight to pick.
We are detonating systems that sustain us:
Spewing out emissions causing our climate to implode; poisoning land, sea and air with
pollution, and decimating biodiversity, causing ecosystems to collapse.
We have many important milestones, including: October’s UN Biodiversity Conference,
November’s COP29, and December’s Conference on the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification.
Excellencies,

26. The climate crisis remains the defining challenge of our time.
The coming years will largely determine whether we can limit global temperature rise to
1.5 degrees.
To stay within that limit, we must cut emissions 45 percent by 2030, compared with
2010 levels. And we need emissions to have peaked by 2025.
The good news is, we have never been better equipped to prevent climate breakdown.
And the benefits of renewables are clearer every year.
We must seize the momentum by taking action in three areas: Nationally Determined
Contributions; phasing out fossil fuels; and finance.
By 2025, every country must commit to new national climate plans aligned with the
1.5-degree limit.
I am mobilizing the entire UN system to assist countries to do so.
New national plans should cover all emissions and sectors.
They should map a just transition to clean energy.
And they must be backed-up by robust policies and regulations – from an effective
carbon price, to ending fossil fuel subsidies.
For developing countries, this is a chance to create national climate plans that double
as national transition plans and national investment plans:
To attract capital and investments; to chart a just transition to a net zero future; and to
underpin sustainable development for generations to come.
For the G20, this is an opportunity to show true leadership on the global stage by
accelerating a just, equitable fossil fuel phase-out.
Excellencies,
The fossil fuel era is on its last legs.

27. The renewable energy revolution is unstoppable.
But we must act this year to ensure that the transition is just for people and planet –
and that it will be fast enough to prevent full-on climate catastrophe,
That requires tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency
by 2030 – as agreed at COP28.
It means working to ensure the production and trade of minerals critical to the energy
transitions are just, sustainable and provide maximum added value in the countries
supplying the raw materials in the first place. Developing countries must not be only
producers of raw materials; they must be much higher in the level of capacity to
transform them.
The Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals will develop voluntary principles by the
end of the year.
Excellencies,
A just transition means urgent action to unlock the finance developing countries need to
leapfrog fossil fuel dependence while bringing clean power to all.
Our Climate Solidarity Pact urges big emitters to make extra efforts to cut emissions
and wealthier countries to support emerging economies to do so.
I urge countries to put it into effect.
And I welcome Brazil’s commitment to bring climate and finance discussions together
as G20 President.
At a minimum, developed countries must clarify the delivery of the $100 billion, and
explain how they will double adaptation funding, to at least $40 billion a year, by 2025.
At COP29, all countries must agree on an ambitious new climate finance goal.
We should explore innovative sources of climate finance.
And the Loss and Damage Fund must be up and running as quickly as possible – and

28. with significant contributions.
Countries on the frontline of climate chaos are entitled to far greater support.
Excellencies,
This is a full agenda.
In one form or another, every element connects to the most essential of all human
endeavours: the pursuit of peace.
Peace can achieve wonders that wars never will.
Wars destroy.
Peace builds.
But in today’s troubled world, building peace is a conscious, bold and even radical act.
It is humanity’s greatest responsibility.
And that responsibility belongs to us all – individually and collectively.
In this difficult and divided moment, let’s meet that obligation for today and future
generations.
Starting here. Starting now.
For my part, I can guarantee that I will never give up fighting for peace.
Thank you.