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STORY: UN / RULE OF LAW
TRT: 03:33
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 JANUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
26 JANUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres addressing Council
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The founders of this Organization understood that global problems can only be solved by wielding not the weapons of war, but instead the tools of diplomacy, supported by a system based on international law. By dialogue, not the zero-sum rhetoric of division. And by collaboration — not geopolitical competition.”
5. Wide shot, Guterres addressing Council
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Around the world, the rule of law is being replaced by the law of the jungle. We see flagrant violations of international law and brazen disregard for the UN Charter. From Gaza to Ukraine, and around the world, the rule of law is being treated as an à la carte menu. We see States flouting the rule of law with impunity, through the illegal use of force, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, human rights violations and abuses, the illegal development of nuclear weapons, unconstitutional changes of government, and denial of lifesaving humanitarian aid. These violations set dangerous precedents, encouraging other countries to do what they want, instead of what they are required to do under international law.”
7. Wide shot, Guterres addressing Council
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The United Nations Security Council stands alone in its Charter-mandated authority to act on behalf of all Member States on questions of peace and security. The Security Council alone adopts decisions binding on all. No other body or ad-hoc coalition can legally require all Member States to comply with decisions on peace and security. Only the Security Council can authorize the use of force under international law, as set out in the Charter.”
9. Wide shot, Council, Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf on screen
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, Founding President of the African Institute of International Law:
“Sovereign equality of states; equal rights and self-determination of peoples; the prohibition of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of other states; and the peaceful settlement of disputes are the fundamental principles and rules – to mention just a few - which brought us all peace and stability.”
11. Wide shot, Council, Yusuf on screen
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, Founding President of the African Institute of International Law:
“Lawlessness and chaos do not benefit any nation’s security or development, nor does arbitrariness in relations with other states. The advantages of stability and predictability offered by the web of international legal rules established in the post-war period outweigh any possible constraint that it imposes on states. Without an international rule of law, arbitrariness would increase, predictability would diminish, and certainty would disappear.”
13. Wide shot, Council
Secretary-General António Guterres today (26 Jan) said the United Nations Security Council “stands alone in its Charter-mandated authority to act on behalf of all Member States on questions of peace and security,” and stressed that “no other body or ad-hoc coalition can legally require all Member States to comply with decisions on peace and security.”
Addressing a Council meeting on the promotion and strengthening of the rule of law in the maintenance of international peace and security, Guterres said, “the founders of this Organization understood that global problems can only be solved by wielding not the weapons of war, but instead the tools of diplomacy, supported by a system based on international law. By dialogue, not the zero-sum rhetoric of division. And by collaboration — not geopolitical competition.”
Around the world, he said, “the rule of law is being replaced by the law of the jungle,” denouncing “flagrant violations of international law and brazen disregard for the UN Charter.”
The Secretary-General said, “from Gaza to Ukraine, and around the world, the rule of law is being treated as an à la carte menu. We see States flouting the rule of law with impunity; through the illegal use of force, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, human rights violations and abuses, the illegal development of nuclear weapons, unconstitutional changes of government, and denial of lifesaving humanitarian aid.”
These violations, he said, “set dangerous precedents, encouraging other countries to do what they want, instead of what they are required to do under international law.”
Guterres again stressed that “the Security Council alone adopts decisions binding on all” and “only the Security Council can authorize the use of force under international law, as set out in the Charter.”
Also addressing the Council, Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf from Somalia, who served on the International Court of Justice (ICJ} and is the founding President of the African Institute of International Law, said, “sovereign equality of states; equal rights and self-determination of peoples; the prohibition of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of other states; and the peaceful settlement of disputes are the fundamental principles and rules – to mention just a few - which brought us all peace and stability.”
Yusuf said, “lawlessness and chaos do not benefit any nation’s security or development, nor does arbitrariness in relations with other states. The advantages of stability and predictability offered by the web of international legal rules established in the post-war period outweigh any possible constraint that it imposes on states.”
Without an international rule of law, he said, “arbitrariness would increase, predictability would diminish, and certainty would disappear.”
The high-level open debate on “Reaffirming international rule of law: Pathways to reinvigorating peace, justice, and multilateralism” was convened by the Somali presidency of the Council
The concept note for the meeting argues that repeated breaches of international law in recent armed conflicts have created the perception that the international rule of law is being eroded, while noting that this perception fuels distrust and ultimately contributes to a gradual weakening of the rule of law.
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