Powerful forces are lining up to undermine global cooperation, United Nations Secretary-General Antnio Guterres warned at a landmark event in London on Saturday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the General Assembly, but he urged that humanity is strongest when we stand as one.

In his final annual address outlining his priorities, UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres warned that the world is brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability even as international cooperation is fraying at the moment it is most needed.

With the multilateral system under pressure and under attack, Member States must fight for the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly said on Wednesday, laying out her priorities for its resumed 80th session.

Speakingat Methodist Central Hall, the very same venuewhere the first-ever UN General Assembly was held on 10 January 1946, Mr. Guterrescalled ondelegatesat the eventto bebold enough to change. Bold enough to find the courage of those who came to this Hall 80 years ago to forge a better world.

From bomb shelter to diplomatic gathering

Organisedby theUnited Nations Association-UK,Saturday'sanniversary eventgatheredover 1,000delegates from across the world, with speakers includingPresident of the General Assembly,Annalena Baerbock, the UN Champion for SpaceProfessor Brian Coxand the UN Refugee Agencys Goodwill AmbassadorMaya Ghazal.The event also marks the 80thanniversary of the first UNSecurityCouncil,which took place on 17 January 1946 at nearby Church House.

During his keynote address, Mr. Guterres reflected on thesymbolic location of thecommemoration. The firstGeneral Assemblytook place within the same walls four months after the end of the Second World War, in a heavily bombed London where tens of thousands had been killed, a powerful reminder as to why the UNhad been created.

To reach this Hall, delegates had to pass through a cityscarredby war. Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the House of Commons had been shelled by the Luftwaffe. And as those bombs fell, terrified civilians huddled here, in the basement of the Methodist Central Hall one of the largest public air-raid shelters in London, said the Secretary-General.

Throughout the Blitz, as many as 2,000 people gathered in the hall forprotection, before the nations of the worldassembledthere in 1946 tosave succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

In many ways, this Hall is a physical representation of what the United Nations is: a place people put their faith for peace, for security, for a better life,reflected Mr. Guterres.

The world of 2026 is not the world of 1946

In the 80 years since the first General Assembly, the UN has expanded from 51 members to 193. Mr.Guterresemphasisedthat the General Assembly, the UNs chief deliberative,policymakingand representative body, is the parliament of the family of nations. It is a forum forevery voice to be heard, a crucible for consensus, and a beacon for cooperation.

Whilst he acknowledged that the General Assemblys work may not always be straightforward or seamless, he described it as a a mirror of our world, itsdivisionsand its hopes. And it is the stage on which our shared story plays out.

Reflecting on the last decade,Mr. Guterres spoke of how the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan have been vicious and cruel beyond measure;artificial intelligence has become ubiquitous almost overnight;and the pandemic poured accelerant on the fires of nationalism stalling progress on development and climate action.

Mr. Guterres emphasised how2025 wasa profoundly challenging yearfor international cooperation and the UNs values.

Aid was slashed. Inequalitieswidened. Climate chaos accelerated. International law was trampled. Crackdownsoncivil societyintensified. Journalists were killed with impunity. And United Nations staff were repeatedly threatened or killed in the line of duty.

The UN reportedin 2025thatglobal military spending reached$2.7 trillionover 200 times the UKs current aid budget, or equivalent to over 70 per cent of Britains entire economy.

Fossil fuel profits have also continued to surgewhilst the planet broke heatrecords,Mr. Guterres underlined.

And in cyberspace,algorithms rewarded falsehoods, fuelled hatred, and provided authoritarians with powerful tools of control.

Multilateralismover division

A robust, responsive and well-resourced multilateral system is needed to address the worlds interconnected challenges, Mr.Guterresurged, but thevalues of multilateralism are being chipped away.

The Secretary-Generalgave the example ofa landmark international agreement to protect marine life in international waters and the seabed, which comes into forceon Saturday, as a model of modern diplomacy, led by science, with the participation not just of governments, but of civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

These quiet victories of international cooperation the wars prevented, the famine averted, the vital treaties secured do not always make the headlines. Yet they are real. And they matter. If we wish to secure more such victories,we must ensure the full respect of international law and defend multilateralism, strengthening it for our times.

Ashe addressed the London audience,the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to the United Kingdom for its decisive role in creating the United Nations, and forbeing such a strong pillar of multilateralism and champion of the United Nations today.

High stakesfor a better world

Looking towards the future, the Secretary-General called for an international system that reflects the modern world, including reforming international financial systems and theSecurity Council.

As globalcentresof power shift,we have the potential to build a future that is eithermore fair or more unstable.

The Secretary-Generalreminded delegatesin Londonthat when the UN first opened its doors, many of its staff bore the visible wounds of war a limp, a scar, a burn.

There is a persistent myth now echoing louder each day that peace is nave.That the only real politics is the politics of self-interest and force, Mr. Guterressaid.

But the founders of the United Nations were notuntouchedby reality.On the contrary, they had seen war, and they knew:Peace, justice and equality, are the most courageous, the most practical, the most necessary pursuits of all.

*Miranda Alexander-Webber is a communications officer with the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC).