Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUNGA80 / GUTERRES INTERVIEW
STORY: UNGA80 / GUTERRES INTERVIEW
TRT: 07:01
SOURCE: UN VIDEO / UN NEWS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
17 SEPTEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
3. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We are facing a global crisis. Conflicts are multiplying in the context in which geopolitical divides do not allow to effectively address them. There is a sense of impunity. Every country believes they can do whatever they want.”
4. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
5. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“So, in this context, we absolutely need leaders to come here and to turn the tides; to come here and understand that international cooperation is vital in a moment like this; to come here and do the negotiations of the mediation that are necessary to at least create hope for peace in some of the situations we are facing.”
6. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
7. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I believe that there will be a clear, clear demonstration that the overwhelming majority of the countries in the world recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, recognize that there must be a Palestinian state and recognize it in the meeting we will have on Monday, and at the same time, send the very clear message that the carnage that is happening in Gaza has to end, that we need the ceasefire immediately with the release of all hostages immediately too and with effective humanitarian aid in Gaza that is suffering the highest level of death and destruction that I've seen, since I am Secretary-General.”
8. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The suffering of the Sudanese people is horrible. So, I think it's time for the Security Council to be able to take, with the agreement of all the key powers, very tough measures on Sudan, to make those, Sudanese parties understand that what they are doing is a crime against their own people.”
9. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
10. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“As we live in a world of impunity, it is easy for countries, that see the examples of big powers waging war, as in the case of Ukraine. There is a stimulus for mid-sized countries to try to solve their ambitions or their problems through war instead of negotiation, instead of compromise. And this is becoming a pattern that needs to be strongly opposed by the international community. And the world needs much more united and effective Security Council to make it happen. That's why the reform of Security Council is so important.”
11. Med shot, Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, interviewing the Secretary-General
12. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“But the most important message is to the countries in the world that have obligations and the international refugee law, that their doors must be open, that refugees must see their rights respected.”
13. Med shot, Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, interviewing the Secretary-General
14. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“UNHCR that has a fantastic role in supporting refugees all over the world is now dramatically underfunded. So, this is a tragic situation that requires a comprehensive response.”
15. Wide shot, pan right, Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, interviewing the Secretary-General
SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“This is a moment in which every member state must present its new climate plan, and it's essential that those climate plans are aligned with the objective of 1.5 degrees, which means that they bring a dramatic reduction of emissions.”
16. Wide shot, pan left, the Secretary-General answering a question
17. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We absolutely need to preserve human agency in artificial intelligence, to guarantee that artificial intelligence is an enormous contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, to more equality in the world, and to avoid at all costs that artificial intelligence deepens the divide between rich and poor in the world, and at the same time that it is used for purposes that represent a danger for our societies, the danger, because it can be weaponized.”
18. Close up shot, hands gesticulating
19. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“In relation to which the UN has presented in the Pact for the Future, a clear set of rules, in order to make sure that in social media and in other platforms, artificial intelligence and digital technologies in general, do not become a threat to the social cohesion of societies and the mechanism of polarization that undermines democracy and undermines the possibility of peace to prevail.”
20. Med shot, the Secretary-General listening to a question
21. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Our international financial architecture comes from the World War II and today doesn't represent the world that exists. We have seen the emergence of large economies in the developing world. They need to have a voice and, a presence, participation in the global institutions. The same with continents like Africa or Latin America, that are absent in the mechanisms of this vision.”
22. Wide shot, zoom in, the Secretary-General answering a question
23. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We know that official development assistance is not growing on the contrary, it is being dramatically reduced. But there are certain number of things that can be done that can multiply the resources that exists. For instance, if we put one dollar in a project, it is one dollar. If you put one dollar in the capital of a multilateral development bank, it's five dollars because they can go to the market and obtain additional resources. So, we need to do a number of reforms of the system.”
24. Wide shot, zoom in, the Secretary-General answering a question
25. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Gender parity are central to the objectives of the United Nations. If there is a push back, we need to push back against the push back, and we need to reaffirm that the world can only be fair if the two halves of the world are at the same level and can work together to the benefit of us all.”
26. Close up shot, hands gesticulating
27. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I'm not optimistic nor pessimistic. I'm determined. I think this is a moment in which we need determination. Sometimes it looks there is no hope. We must build that hope. And we must be determined, never giving up and fighting until our objectives can be achieved.”
28. Wide shot, pan down, General Assembly Hall
In an interview at UN Headquarters, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world is “facing a global crisis,” with multiplying conflicts and geopolitical divides. Guterres also said, “There is a sense of impunity. Every country believes they can do whatever they want.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th General Assembly, he said leaders must use the gathering to reverse those trends. “We absolutely need leaders to come here and to turn the tides; to come here and understand that international cooperation is vital in a moment like this; to come here and do the negotiations of the mediation that are necessary to at least create hope for peace in some of the situations we are facing.”
The Secretary-General said Monday’s high-level meeting would highlight the need to end the war in Gaza. “I believe that there will be a clear, clear demonstration that the overwhelming majority of the countries in the world recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” he said.
On Sudan, Guterres said the Security Council must take stronger action. “The suffering of the Sudanese people is horrible. So, I think it's time for the Security Council to be able to take, with the agreement of all the key powers, very tough measures on Sudan, to make those Sudanese parties understand that what they are doing is a crime against their own people.”
He linked such crises to a broader climate of impunity. “There is a stimulus for mid-sized countries to try to solve their ambitions or their problems through war instead of negotiation. He also said, “And the world needs much more united and effective Security Council to make it happen. That's why the reform of Security Council is so important.”
Guterres also addressed refugee protection, urging states to uphold obligations. He said, “the most important message is to the countries in the world that have obligations and the international refugee law, that their doors must be open, that refugees must see their rights respected.” But he warned that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is now dramatically underfunded. He said, “This is a tragic situation that requires a comprehensive response.”
Turning to climate, he said: “This is a moment in which every member state must present its new climate plan, and it's essential that those climate plans are aligned with the objective of 1.5 degrees, which means that they bring a dramatic reduction of emissions.”
On artificial intelligence, he stressed, “We absolutely need to preserve human agency in artificial intelligence, to guarantee that artificial intelligence is an enormous contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, to more equality in the world, and to avoid at all costs that artificial intelligence deepens the divide between rich and poor in the world, and at the same time that it is used for purposes that represent a danger for our societies, the danger, because it can be weaponized.”
He pointed to the UN’s Pact for the Future, which includes proposals for rules to prevent digital technologies from fueling polarization.
Guterres also called for reform of the global financial system. “Our international financial architecture comes from the World War II and today doesn't represent the world that exists,” he said, urging more inclusion of Africa, Latin America and emerging economies.
He noted that official development aid is shrinking but said reforms could multiply available resources. “If we put one dollar in a project, it is one dollar. If you put one dollar in the capital of a multilateral development bank, it's five dollars because they can go to the market and obtain additional resources. So, we need to do a number of reforms of the system.”
On gender equality, he was emphatic, “If there is a push back, we need to push back against the push back, and we need to reaffirm that the world can only be fair if the two halves of the world are at the same level and can work together to the benefit of us all.”
Summing up his approach, Guterres said: “I'm not optimistic nor pessimistic. I'm determined. I think this is a moment in which we need determination. Sometimes it looks there is no hope. We must build that hope. And we must be determined, never giving up and fighting until our objectives can be achieved.”
