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UN PhotoUNGA81 / GUTERRES PRESS CONFERENCE
STORY: UNGA81 / GUTERRES PRESS CONFERENCE
TRT: 06:45
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 SEPTEMBER 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
16 SEPTEMBER 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres at the press room dais
3. Wide shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“World leaders will be gathering at the United Nations in an era of deep uncertainty. At the same time, power is shifting. The world is changing. And our institutions must change with it. But updating our structures can never mean abandoning our principles. It must mean applying those principles with even greater determination.”
5. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“At this critical moment in the Middle East, de-escalation must be priority one, priority two and priority three. All parties must cease any actions that harm civilians and ensure that humanitarian operations can proceed safely and without obstruction. Navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab must be fully restored and respected by all, in accordance with international law. The only path forward is de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue.”
7. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The peace plan for Gaza must be fully implemented with unrestricted humanitarian aid. And the creeping annexation of the West Bank must stop. There will be no peace in the Middle East without realizing the Two-State solution. At the same time, we are well into the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – with immense civilian suffering, cascading global consequences, and no end in sight. It is time for an immediate ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”
9. Wide shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“AI has enormous potential – to accelerate sustainable development, enhance learning, strengthen health systems, boost climate resilience, and so much more. But a growing number of those building it are sounding the alarm – warning that development is racing ahead of our understanding of the risks. Some call for a pause. Many call for guardrails. We cannot afford to ignore concerns that have been raised, especially by those on the frontlines of the development of AI. Governments must assume their responsibilities. It is the first responsibility of any government to protect it citizens – including from the threats of artificial intelligence. National action is essential. But global coordination is indispensable. Because AI does not stop at borders – and neither do its risks.”
11. Pan right, journalists
12. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Of course, I would like to have President XI Jinping with us. But let me remind you that he just received me a few months ago, that we met twice last month. And on top of that, that he has been a staunch defender of a world order based on multilateralism, with the UN at its centre. So, I'm not worried at all about the Chinese position. And the in relation to the escalator, we had an enquiry made last year. That inquiry, I will not I am not going to enter into details but left me relieved, and I can tell you that we took additional measures in order to make sure that whoever goes around does not, interact, negatively with the escalator.”
13. Wide shot, journalists
14. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We have clearly condemned the attacks by the Houthis to civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and to the obstacles to navigation in the Bab el Mandeb. At the same time, we ask both sides to be able to establish a dialogue in order to end this dramatic aggravation of the conflict in the Middle East.”
15. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
16. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“It's time to stop this creeping annexation. It’s time to stop any actions that might lead to this ethnic cleansing that you referred. And it's time to create the conditions for the two-state solution to be, again, put seriously on the table.”
17. Pan right, journalists
18. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“There will be no peace in the Middle East without solution of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. And there will be no peace in the Horn of Africa if the Sudan crisis is not solved.”
19. Wide shot, Guterres at the dais
20. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“It is absolutely intolerable that women, first of all, are not allowed even to work in our premises. It is absolutely intolerable that, the access of girls to education is limited, and it's absolutely intolerable that women are not allowed to work except in very specific circumstances. This is, one of the biggest concerns, and we have been very active, mobilising as much as we can the international community and putting pressure on the Taliban and making them understand that what they are doing is in undermining the capacity of the country to move ahead, is undermining humanitarian aid and is putting severe limitations to the development of the country.”
21. Pan right, journalists
22. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We see the price is rising and we see that the conditions of supply are put severely into question. So, for reasons of security, because the wind will always blow and the sun will always shine, there are no limitations. There are no Straits of Hormuz or problems in the Black Sea, that will impact on the origins of renewable energy. I think for the economic reasons that I mentioned and for reasons of security, the intelligent thing for governments to do is to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables and to make that transition just.”
23. Wide shot, end of presser
Speaking to journalists ahead of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, Secretary-General António Guterres today (16 Sep) made a call to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables for economic and security reasons, “because the wind will always blow and the sun will always shine, there are no limitations. There are no Straits of Hormuz or problems in the Black Sea that will impact on the origins of renewable energy.”
Noting that this will be his last General Assembly as Secretary-General, Guterres said the world had entered “an era of deep uncertainty” and urged governments to embrace international cooperation to address global threats.
He said, “the world is changing. And our institutions must change with it. But updating our structures can never mean abandoning our principles. It must mean applying those principles with even greater determination.”
On the Middle East crises, the Secretary-General said, “de-escalation must be priority one, priority two and priority three. All parties must cease any actions that harm civilians and ensure that humanitarian operations can proceed safely and without obstruction.”
He stressed that “navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab must be fully restored and respected by all, in accordance with international law,” adding that “the only path forward is de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue.”
Guterres said, “the peace plan for Gaza must be fully implemented with unrestricted humanitarian aid, and the creeping annexation of the West Bank must stop.”
“Well into the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” he said, “it is time for an immediate ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”
The Secretary-General dedicated nearly half his remarks to what should be done about the rapid advancement of AI technology.
He recognised AI’s “enormous potential” on issues surrounding health, education and climate, but added that the world “cannot afford to ignore concerns” that AI development is progressing faster than human understanding of its risks.
Taking questions from journalists, Guterres regretted that China’s President XI Jinping will not attend the GA High-level week but noted that he had met with Xi “twice last month, “and added that “he has been a staunch defender of a world order based on multilateralism, with the UN at its centre.”
Asked about the escalator failure last year during United States President Donald Trump’s arrival, he said, “we had an enquiry made last year. That inquiry, I will not I am not going to enter into details but left me relieved, and I can tell you that we took additional measures in order to make sure that whoever goes around does not interact, negatively with the escalator.”
The Secretary-General repeated his condemnation of the attacks by the Houthis on civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and to the obstacles to navigation in the Bab el Mandeb. He asked, “both sides to be able to establish a dialogue in order to end this dramatic aggravation of the conflict in the Middle East.”
Turning to the West Bank, Guterres said, “it's time to stop this creeping annexation. It’s time to stop any actions that might lead to this ethnic cleansing that you referred. And it's time to create the conditions for the two-state solution to be, again, put seriously on the table.”
He said, “there will be no peace in the Middle East without solution of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis,” and also added that “there will be no peace in the Horn of Africa if the Sudan crisis is not solved.”
On the situation of women in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General said, “it is absolutely intolerable that women, first of all, are not allowed even to work in our premises. It is absolutely intolerable that, the access of girls to education is limited, and it's absolutely intolerable that women are not allowed to work except in very specific circumstances. This is, one of the biggest concerns, and we have been very active, mobilising as much as we can the international community and putting pressure on the Taliban and making them understand that what they are doing is in undermining the capacity of the country to move ahead, is undermining humanitarian aid and is putting severe limitations to the development of the country.”
