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UN PhotoGENEVA / GUTERRES INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION
STORY: GENEVA / GUTERRES INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION
TRT: 1:39
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 06 JULY 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, UN Geneva flag alley
2. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, UN Secretary-General:
“Let us be clear: international law is under pressure – but it will prevail. Most States continue to defend it – and trust in it. The dockets of international tribunals demonstrate as much. And its language is invoked even by those who do not always honour it. That is a testament to the enduring authority of the framework this Commission helps develop and codify.”
3. Wide shot, exterior, UN Geneva flag alley
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, UN Secretary-General:
“Sea-level rise is a threat multiplier. We must act now to close the gaps in existing legal frameworks – before it’s too late. The Commission’s report lays essential groundwork for the work the General Assembly will take up later this year. And the next steps now rest with Member States. My hope is that the international community will rise to the moment with the same resolve this Commission has brought to the task.”
5. Wide shot, exterior, UN Geneva flag alley
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, UN Secretary-General:”
“The world needs rigorous legal thinking – drawing on different legal traditions, diverse points of view and backgrounds. It needs the wisdom and lived experience that the women and men in this room bring to the work of the Commission. It needs the patient, careful development of legal norms and rules that can hold firm under pressure. And the steady conviction that law – not power – must govern relations among nations.”
7. Wide shot, exterior, UN Geneva flag alley
Secretary-General António Guterres said, “international law is under pressure – but it will prevail.”
The Secretary-General spoke to the International Low Commission today (6 Jul) in Geneva. He said that most States continue to defend international law – and trust in it. “The dockets of international tribunals demonstrate as much. And its language is invoked even by those who do not always honour it,” Guterres said.
“That is a testament to the enduring authority of the framework this Commission helps develop and codify,” the UN chief added.
He welcomed the recent convening of diplomatic conferences on two issues born of work done in this very house. First, on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity. And second, on the protection of persons in the event of disasters.
The Secretary-General also offered his congratulations to the Commission for completing, in 2025, its landmark report on sea-level rise in relation to international law.
Guterres said, “sea-level rise is a threat multiplier. We must act now to close the gaps in existing legal frameworks – before it’s too late.”
He said, “the Commission’s report lays essential groundwork for the work the General Assembly will take up later this year. And the next steps now rest with Member States. My hope is that the international community will rise to the moment with the same resolve this Commission has brought to the task.”
Secretary-General concluded, “the world needs rigorous legal thinking – drawing on different legal traditions, diverse points of view and backgrounds. It needs the wisdom and lived experience that the women and men in this room bring to the work of the Commission. It needs the patient, careful development of legal norms and rules that can hold firm under pressure. And the steady conviction that law – not power – must govern relations among nations.”
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