UN Secretary-General's Press Conference

Allow me first of all to pay tribute to the Japanese journalists.

You are a fundamental pillar of freedom of the press and a fundamental pillar of the Japanese democracy.

And indeed, this is my last press conference as Secretary-General in this role.

I want to express how much I appreciate the work of Japanese journalists in today's world.

Thank you for joining us today.

I am here in Japan on a mission of gratitude and determination.

First — gratitude to the Government and people of Japan for the warm welcome, once again, to this beautiful country.

Two days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with Her Excellency,
Ms. Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan.

As I told her, the United Nations is deeply proud of our partnership with Japan.

Since joining the United Nations 70 years ago, this country has been a steadfast and generous champion of multilateralism and the power of collaboration and unity.

The UN System has some 30 offices based in Japan — including the UN University headquartered in Tokyo — a meeting place for global experts on a wide range of critical international issues.

This week, UN leaders from across our system came to Japan for our annual meeting of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination — the first time this meeting has been held in Asia.

Among the people of Japan, we've witnessed an enormous generosity in helping the UN operate in some of the world's most troubled places and support the people of the world with life-saving aid.

Feeding the hungry.

Providing shelter and protection to families in war zones.

Protecting women and girls from violence.

Delivering medical assistance — including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporting vital peacekeeping missions in some of the most dangerous and unstable places in the world.

And promoting the vision of human security Japan has also been a steadfast champion of multilateralism and voice of peace at the United Nations, within the Security Council, and worldwide.

From conflict prevention, to defending the rule of law, to nuclear disarmament, an issue of deep importance to the Japanese people.

I was proud to be the first Secretary-General to attend peace ceremonies in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima and pay tribute to the atomic bomb survivors — hibakusha — whose bravery and message of peace continue to inspire me.

I was also proud to participate in so many of the sessions of the TICAD process — Japan’s extraordinary partnership with Africa over three decades.

TICAD is a prime example of collaboration across regions to spur development, and a reminder that no country walks alone.

Japan’s training of African Union peacekeepers through Triangular Partnership Programme is another clear example, with the Programme celebrating its tenth anniversary last year.

The United Nations supported Japan’s response and recovery efforts to the earthquake in 2011, which devastated the Tohuku region and the city of Sendai — an experience that Japan transformed into global leadership on disaster risk reduction.

I continue to stand by Japan’s call for a resolution of the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — an unacceptable violation of human rights. And I want to express my total solidarity with the abductees and their families.

Our organization was also proud to take part in last year’s Expo 2025 in Osaka.

I had the honour of visiting on the United Nations Special Day.

I saw how the Expo brought people together — across nations, cultures and generations — around a simple truth: humanity is strongest when we stand as one.

This brings me to the second part of my mission.

Determination.

I am determined to ensure a strong UN-Japan partnership for the future.

The true hallmark of partnership is revealed in times of crisis.

And our world today is rocked by conflicts, climate chaos and inequality.

Inflation is rising and the cost-of-living crisis is deepening — made worse by the conflict in the Middle East, which is sending prices for energy and raw materials - including fertilizers -skyrocketing.

It is essential to immediately reestablish the freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and to end all ceasefire violations and create conditions for a political solution to the conflict.

Mistrust and geopolitical divisions are blocking effective solutions.

Countries are flouting international law with impunity.

Military spending is outpacing spending on aid, while funding cuts have devastating consequences for the world’s most vulnerable people.

The Sustainable Development Goals — our blueprint for a better future for people and planet — require much stronger progress.

Multilateral development banks are not sufficiently supporting developing countries, who are drowning in debt service and facing a lack of financing.

We must recapitalize those multilateral development banks for them to have the necessary resources to support developing countries.

And world-changing technology like Artificial Intelligence is progressing faster than the ability to manage it safely.

The global problem-solving architecture — in particular, the UN Security Council and global financial institutions — are not as effective as they need to be at this challenging moment.

In 2024, Member States adopted the Pact for the Future — a bold vision of reform and renewal of the multilateral system.

And last year, we launched the UN80 Initiative — to ensure that the United Nations is equipped to deliver for people and for planet in these fast-moving times.

With the strong support of Japan, I am convinced we can weather today’s storms and restore global trust in what we can achieve by standing as one.

And by implementing the Sevilla Commitment on Financing for Development agreed last year, to supercharge financing for development while providing new tools for effective debt relief.

But the most important reform that needs to be established is the reform of the UN Security Council whose composition does not guarantee the legitimacy and effectiveness that obviously are dramatically affected by the fact that the permanent members have three European [countries], one Asian [country] - when Asia today have at least half of the world's population – one North American but no African nor Latin American [countries].

This is a serious problem of legitimacy and of ineffectiveness, and it is absolutely essential to increase the number of Permanent Members and to increase the number of non-Permanent Members to make the Security council corresponds to today's world, to the realities of today's world.

And also, we need to reform the global financial architecture to give far greater representation of developing countries in addressing today’s challenges.

We need a multilateral system that is more fair, more able to continue to defend international law and hold countries accountable to it.

Able to take bold action on climate change, supercharging the transition to renewable energy — with speed and with justice for developing countries through support for adaptation.

Able to bring governments and technology companies together to ensure Artificial Intelligence helps, not hinders, humanity.

And to work to scale-up the funding required to save lives, and build peaceful and resilient communities around the world.

Across all of these issues, Japan can be a strong and influential voice of unity and purpose, as we navigate these headwinds.

Ladies and gentlemen of the media,

The United Nations remains the essential, one-of-a-kind meeting ground to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Eight decades after our founding, we can draw a direct line between the creation of the UN and the prevention of a third world war.

But our organization is only as strong as Member States’ commitment to it.

For 70 years, the goals of Japan and the goals of the United Nations have been strongly aligned.

Across the decades, the UN has benefitted enormously from Japan’s generosity and commitment to the multilateral system.

And Japan has successfully leveraged its role at the United Nations to grow its diplomatic influence, and build economic prosperity and peace through a stable and cooperative global system.

Once again, I thank the Government and people of Japan for the warm welcome, and for our extraordinary partnership over the last 70 years.

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QUESTION & ANSWER

Question: Thank you for your speech, Mr. Guterres. I'm from Asahi Television. And my question is that there is growing skepticism that international institutions such like United Nations can actually prevent conflict. And, also on your speech, you have noted that the United Nations Security Council and global financial institutions are not as effective as they needed to be at this current moment. And you have pointed out that there needs to be a reform in the United Nations Security Council, but how exactly do you plan to reform UNSC, and furthermore, what do you believe is the greatest failure of the United Nations system during your term, and what lessons should your successor learn from it?

Secretary-General: Well, let me be very clear. It's not multilateralism that is in crisis. What is in crisis is the behaviour of superpowers that violate international law, that sometimes create conflicts themselves and that use their veto power in the Security Council to guarantee their impunity. In these circumstances, it's very difficult for the Secretariat of the United Nations to be able to contain the dramatic increase in the number of conflicts around the world. Because when the bad example comes from superpowers, other middle-sized powers all over the world think that they can do whatever they want, without any punishment. And you see what happens in the DRC, you see what happens in Sudan. You see what happens in the Horn of Africa. And it is clear that you have now a number of powers that have a permanent external interference inside the countries in conflict, making it extremely difficult for us to prevent and to mediate conflicts. That is why the reform of the Security Council is so important. And it's necessary to say that when I started as Secretary General, the reform of the Security Council was a taboo, and the Secretary General was not supposed to talk about it. But now, we have been defending constantly the need for that reform, and things are starting to change, with even the permanent members recognizing that reform is necessary. And what I believe I have not been able to do, because it's not in my power, was to reform the Security Council. But I will give the advice to my successor to go on fighting, not to be silent, and to claim the need to reestablish justice in the world by reforming the Security Council - and, by the way, the international financial architecture.

Question: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary-General, this is Go Kamashita from NHK. Let me ask you a very general question. It's been said that the United Nations Secretary-General is the most difficult job in the world, almost impossible job. But your 10 years term, this is maybe the most turbulent; even among the nine SGs in the history, you had one pandemic, three major wars, and twice, the Trump administration. And you still have six months ahead of you. So it's very premature to ask you, but how would you-- could you sum up your 10 years term in the history of the UN? And having said that, what would be your advice to your future successor, whose selection procedures is now ongoing in New York?

Secretary-General: Now what is remarkable is that during these 10 years, we did not stop in any front. First, in the COVID, the UN had a leading role globally in order to create the conditions for this terrible disease to be effectively fought. And the UN agencies played an absolutely outstanding role in this regard. Second, if one looks at the worst conflicts, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the dramatic situation in Gaza, and the recent bombardment of Iran by Israel and the United States, the voice of the Secretary-General has never been silenced. And we were able to defend always the primacy of international law, to condemn the violations of international law without double standards, and that has constituted a fundamental instrument of credibility for those that are at the head of an organization like the UN. We were never corrupted by fear or by the need to be nice to the most powerful in the world.

Third, in climate action, I believe it is recognized that the UN has had a very leading role, not only in the COPs (Conference of Parties), but in our very strong push to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. And if the war in the Gulf proves something, is that we have too much reliance on fossil fuels, and we must speed up the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. And the UN has been in the front line of defending this point of view against the interests of many powerful in the world.

And artificial intelligence, where there was in the beginning the idea that the UN should not be involved, today we have an international scientific independent panel on artificial intelligence, elected by the General Assembly, 40 experts from all over the world, men and women, north and south, that will be able to inform governments and the people of what artificial intelligence is producing, what is happening in this world, and what kind of initiatives should be taken to guarantee that it remains a force for good. And we will have the first Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence in July in Geneva.

So we did not stop in any area, and we are now involved in a deep reform of the United Nations Secretariat and Agencies. That was the item discussed today here. We were able.. to give you an idea, and I know for taxpayers are concerned with that: we have reduced 22% of the posts of the Secretariat in the budget of 2026. And we have done it in a very, very effective cooperation. We have reduced 25% of our troops in peacekeeping operations when we detected that the Americans would not pay more than half of their contribution. And we did it in a planned way, and I would say that probably not many of the journalists around this room detected that we were withdrawing 25% of our troops in operations around the world.

So our agencies were dramatically impacted by the cuts in humanitarian aid and in development cooperation. Any agency collapsed? No. The UN agencies showed a remarkable resilience. They reformed themselves, they shrunk, they reduced the number of staff, but they maintained their activity in the support of the people we care for. And so, I think it's important to recognize that we live in troubled times, and what you said is exactly true. But that did not intimidate us, and we will continue to fight, and especially to fight for international law, especially to fight against those that violate the law, and then, as I said, use the Security Council to protect themselves, which is absolutely unacceptable in today's world.

And I have no advice to give to my successor, except that I hope that he will guarantee the independence of this function, and it will do everything possible in order to make sure that the United Nations is as effective as possible in peace and security and sustainable development and in human rights.

Question: John Getty from Reuters. President Trump invited President Xi of China to Washington on 24 September. It may not be lost to you that that also coincides with UNGA. Do you expect President Xi to speak at UNGA? Do you think that would be significant, given he hasn't spoken in person at UNGA since 2015? Second question, do you think that countries like China and Japan might have to fill the gap in funding that the UN faces if the U.S. doesn't pay up the billions of dollars of debts that it owes?

Secretary-General: Well, first of all, President Xi is visiting the United States. He's always invited to the General Assembly of the United Nations. And let's not forget that his visit to the United States comes after the visit of President Trump to China, which was a visit in which I believe there was a certain cordiality. There was a belief that tension between the two countries was appeasing, but let's be clear, no major breakthrough was achieved. And so, the visit of President Xi to Washington gains an enormous importance. From our side, we'll always be happy to receive him. But, of course, it's not for me to decide the agenda of the President of the People's Republic of China.

Question: Thank you so much for having me. My name is Okada from the Sankei newspaper, based in Tokyo. You mentioned here a little bit already, with regards to the U.S. unpaid contribution. The United States has paid the United Nations about $160 million this February. On the other hand, the United Nations has said that the U.S. owes over $2 billion to its regular budget. So has the U.S. unpaid contributions have any impact on the operation of the United Nations?

Secretary-General: Well, first of all, I forgot to answer the question. I'm not going to ask Japan and China to pay the American quota. I insist for the United States to pay what is due to the UN.

It is clear that we have a meaningful number of arrears. If we count peacekeeping and Regular Budget, those arrears are above $3 billion. If you count only the Regular Budget, they are 1 billion something dollars. And obviously, this money was necessary. And the fact that this money did not exist has translated itself, as I said, not in the collapse of the organization, but we had to shrink, we had to reduce our activities.

And the price was largely paid by those that received assistance from the UN, which means there is more hunger, which means there is less vaccination, which means there is less support to water and sanitation, which means more people die. That is the reality.

The UN will move on. The UN was prepared for this and has been able to reform itself and slim enough to be able to go on. But obviously, the price was paid by those that we were trying to support, and some of them in very desperate situations.

Question: Thank you. My name is Kaori [inaudible] from Kyodo News. My question is about the conference of NPT taking place in New York. In this conference, what are your expectations for Treaty members and also for countries with nuclear weapons?

Secretary-General: I participated in the ceremonies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and I visited Nagasaki twice, and I visited Hiroshima probably four times. And I was always extremely, extremely impressed by the testimony of the hibakusha. And I believe that they have, and Japan has, an enormous moral authority in matters of disarmament and non-proliferation.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing a situation in which nuclear arsenals are being increased or modernized, and a situation in which the non-proliferation is at risk.

So, in relation to this conference of non-proliferation, our objective is to guarantee that the review effectively takes place, and that the principle of non-proliferation is recognized by all the members. Because if we start multiplying the possibility of countries to have nuclear weapons, we enter in a world that is an extremely dangerous world.

Disarmament is also another fundamental component, because the two are two faces of the same coin. We need non-proliferation, but we need progressive disarmament. And unfortunately, that is not taking place at the present moment.

 

 

 

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