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STORY: UN / GUTERRES 2026 PRIORITIES PRESSER
TRT: 05:27
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 JANUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations
29 JANUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres at the press room dais
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We are living in a world where actions – especially reckless ones – are provoking dangerous reactions. And unlike in physics, these reactions are not symmetrical or predictable. They are being multiplied by geopolitical divisions and magnified by an epidemic of impunity. The law of power is prevailing over the power of law. International law is trampled. Cooperation is eroding. And multilateral institutions are under assault on many fronts.”
5. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Our systems of global problem-solving face a reckoning. Those systems are out of time. They still reflect the economic and power structures of 80 years ago. But the world is moving on.”
7. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Global problems will not be solved by one power calling the shots. Nor will they be solved by two powers carving the world into rival spheres of influence. It is important to accelerate, deliberately and with determination, multipolarity -- one that is networked, inclusive by design, and capable of creating balance through partnerships. Partnerships in trade, in technology and in international cooperation. But multipolarity, by itself, does not guarantee stability or peace.”
9. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Charter of the United Nations was written by people bloodied and bruised by war. They understood that the values enshrined in our founding documents were not lofty abstractions or idealistic hopes. Those values are the sine qua non of lasting peace and enduring justice. Values matter – and people are risking everything to make those values real. That is on full display around the world – whether it is a protestor standing up to repression, a journalist standing up for press freedom, or an everyday citizen standing up for their neighbour.”
11. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
12. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“As we begin this year, we are determined to choose actions that generate concrete and positive reactions – as called for in the Pact for the Future. Reactions of peace, of justice, of responsibility, and of progress in our troubled times.”
13. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
14. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We have condemned vehemently the horrible repression that took place in Iran. We see with concern the discussions that are taking place and we believe that it's important that there is a dialogue allowing for an agreement in relation, namely, to the nuclear question and that we can avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region.
15. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
16. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Only the Security Council can authorise the use of force under international law and set out in the Charter. So, the centrality of the peace and security system lies in the UN and within the UN, in the Security Council. And that is the reason why it is so important to reform the Security Council. And it's very interesting to see that some that criticise the UN for being not effective, are the ones opposing the reform of the Security Council. That is the reason why the UN can sometimes not be as effective as we all want.”
17. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
18. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I'm determined to oppose and to oppose in a very strong way all the efforts that Israel is doing to undermine the two-state solution, namely through, in the West Bank; the construction of settlements, demolitions, evictions and the violence of the settlers. And we believe that these must stop, and we believe that conditions must be created to make sure that Gaza - that will have now its new governance model - that this governance model progressively is linked to the Palestinian Authority and that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, will be the future State of Palestine.”
19. Wide shot, end of presser
Secretary-General António Guterres today (29 Jan) stressed the importance of a multipolar world and said, “global problems will not be solved by one power calling the shots, nor will they be solved by two powers carving the world into rival spheres of influence.”
Talking to reporters in New to highlight his priorities for 2026, the Secretary-General said, “we are living in a world where actions – especially reckless ones – are provoking dangerous reactions,” which in turn are “being multiplied by geopolitical divisions and magnified by an epidemic of impunity.”
He said, “the law of power is prevailing over the power of law. International law is trampled. Cooperation is eroding. And multilateral institutions are under assault on many fronts.”
Guterres said, “our systems of global problem-solving face a reckoning. Those systems are out of time. They still reflect the economic and power structures of 80 years ago. But the world is moving on.”
He warned that multipolarity, “by itself, does not guarantee stability or peace” and pointed out that values enshrined in the UN Charter are not “lofty abstractions or idealistic hopes,” but instead are “the sine qua non of lasting peace and enduring justice.”
The Secretary-General added that people around the world “are risking everything to make those values real,” and said, “whether it is a protestor standing up to repression, a journalist standing up for press freedom, or an everyday citizen standing up for their neighbour.
As we begin this year, he said, “we are determined to choose actions that generate concrete and positive reactions – as called for in the Pact for the Future. Reactions of peace, of justice, of responsibility, and of progress in our troubled times.”
Responding to a journalist’s question, Guterres said, “we have condemned vehemently the horrible repression that took place in Iran. We see with concern the discussions that are taking place and we believe that it's important that there is a dialogue allowing for an agreement in relation, namely, to the nuclear question and that we can avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region.”
Asked about United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, he said, “only the Security Council can authorise the use of force under international law and set out in the Charter. So, the centrality of the peace and security system lies in the UN and within the UN, in the Security Council. And that is the reason why it is so important to reform the Security Council. And it's very interesting to see that some that criticise the UN for being not effective, are the ones opposing the reform of the Security Council. That is the reason why the UN can sometimes not be as effective as we all want.”
On the Palestinian question, the said, Secretary-General “I'm determined to oppose and to oppose in a very strong way all the efforts that Israel is doing to undermine the two-state solution, namely through, in the West Bank; the construction of settlements, demolitions, evictions and the violence of the settlers. And we believe that these must stop, and we believe that conditions must be created to make sure that Gaza - that will have now its new governance model - that this governance model progressively is linked to the Palestinian Authority and that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, will be the future State of Palestine.”
Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, began his first term on January 1, 2017. He was re-elected for a second term in December 2023, which will expire at the end of the year.
