President of the General Assembly: The multilateral system is under attack and the world needs the United Nations

Baerbock was speaking in the Assembly Hall about her priorities for the new year. She began her speech to the UN member states by saying: “In normal times I would have wished you a ‘Happy New Year’ but looking at the world and how the year 2026 has begun in Caracas, in Tehran – happiness is rare.”

Baerbock – who previously served as German Foreign Minister – said that the multilateral system is not only under pressure, but it is under attack and stressed that the world needs this system and the United Nations.

She touched on the work the United Nations is doing to save lives in Gaza, advocate for girls’ education in Afghanistan, protect millions of civilians in Sudan, redouble efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, support human rights, and fight inequality and the climate crisis.

She said: “The world could not be better without the United Nations. It is worth fighting for. And this is my message to you, my dear colleagues, my message to all of us today: Get involved, work and fight for it because the world needs the United Nations, and the United Nations needs the world too.”

“My priority is to defend the United Nations.”

She pointed out that the General Assembly on December 10 witnessed for the first time in more than 3 decades Withdraw the comprehensive annual text On strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian aid.

She said that on that day she was thinking about the extent to which the United Nations and the multilateral system could withstand the blows. She added that major systems do not collapse all at once, but “they crumble one piece after another.”

She added that her main priority during the remaining 237 days of her presidency of the eightieth session of the General Assembly is to defend the United Nations andIts charter And principles.

Warning against compromises turning into concessions

She pointed to the growing disparity in states’ interest in the Charter and international law: “But we all know that no country can enjoy peace while more countries – including some permanent members of the Security Council – violate the basic principles of our Charter.”

Birbock said that it is time for all countries from all regions to work together to build an alliance to protect and strengthen the principles of the United Nations Charter and defend an international order based on international law and human rights.

She added that this also means seeking to heal divisions and find settlements, as long as this does not mean that compromise solutions turn into “appeasement.”

She said that when settlements move from mutual agreement to slowly undermining or deliberately dismantling the foundations of the United Nations, they become concessions.

At the link: the full text of the United Nations Charter

The President of the General Assembly touched on the ongoing reform in the United Nations, and stressed that any reform cannot solve the organization’s financial crisis if member states do not fulfill their financial obligations.

She stressed the need for countries to pay their contributions in full on the specified date without delay, so that the United Nations can continue working.

Regarding the process of selecting the new Secretary-General of the organization, who will assume the position next year, Baerbock announced that interactive dialogues with the candidates will begin on April 20.

She said: “During these dialogues, each candidate will be given an opportunity to present his or her vision, and answer your questions. Civil society organizations will also have the opportunity to engage with the candidates.”

She called on Member States to submit qualified candidates early to ensure their participation in these dialogues, and strongly encouraged them to consider nominating women for this position.