LONDON – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a stark warning on January 17 about mounting threats to international collaboration, speaking at the historic site of the United Nations’ first General Assembly session. Delivering his address at London’s Methodist Central Hall, Guterres marked the 80th anniversary of the landmark gathering on January 10, 1946, where delegates from 51 nations convened because the UN’s New York headquarters was not yet constructed.
With his term set to conclude on December 31 this year, the secretary-general praised Britain’s pivotal role in founding the UN and its ongoing support. Yet Guterres described 2025 as a deeply turbulent year for the organization’s core values. “We see powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation,” he declared. “Despite these rough seas, we sail ahead.
“He highlighted progress amid challenges, pointing to a groundbreaking treaty on marine biological diversity that creates the world’s first legal framework for protecting and sustainably managing marine life in the two-thirds of oceans lying beyond national jurisdictions.
Guterres emphasized that such achievements often go unnoticed. “These quiet victories of international cooperation, the wars prevented, the famine averted, the vital treaties secured, do not always make the headlines,” he noted. “Yet they are real. And they matter.”