BY KING’S OFFICE CORRESPONDENTS
NEW YORK, USA – Never give up!
This is the resolute call to world leaders issued by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, yesterday during the official opening of the 80th UN General Assembly, attended by His Majesty King Mswati III.
Forming part of the King’s delegation were Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Senator Pholile Shakantu, Eswatini Ambassador to the UN Thamie Dlamini and the King’s Private Secretary Mbongeni Simelane, among others.
Guterres framed the UN as humanity’s ‘moral compass’ and insisted that surrender is not an option in confronting challenges that threaten the survival of nations and peoples alike.
He urged them never to yield to despair amid mounting global crises. “In a world of many choices, there is one choice we must never make: the choice to give up. We must never give up. That is my promise to you,” he said.
Guterres reflected on the UN’s founding in the ashes of World War Two, when nations united to create “a practical strategy for the survival of humanity”.
Eighty years on, he warned, the world faces questions even “more urgent, more intertwined, more unforgiving”. From violence and hunger to climate disasters, he painted a grim picture of ‘an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering’, where the ‘pillars of peace and progress are buckling under the weight of impunity, inequality and indifference’.
Guterres described a world under siege, citing military invasions, weaponised hunger, disinformation silencing truth and seas swallowing coastlines. Each, he said, poses a stark question about the choices governments must now make.
Against this bleak backdrop, he championed the UN’s indispensable role as ‘a force for peace, a guardian of international law and a lifeline for people in crisis’.
In a multipolar world, he cautioned, the absence of robust multilateral institutions risks chaos, drawing a historical parallel to the prelude to World War One.
“International cooperation is not naïve but a necessity,” he declared, stressing that no nation can tackle pandemics, climate change or eroded trust alone. “It is hard-headed pragmatism.”
The Secretary-General outlined five critical choices for governments to navigate these crises. First, he urged prioritising peace over war, pointing to conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza as evidence of the cost of flouting international law.
“The Charter is not optional. It is our foundation,” he said, calling for ceasefires, accountability and renewed diplomacy.
Second, he emphasised dignity and human rights as “the bedrock of peace”, advocating for civic freedoms alongside development finance to bolster health, education and opportunity.
On climate justice, Guterres was unequivocal: “Fossil fuels are a losing bet.” He pressed for accelerated investment in renewables, stronger national climate pledges and increased financial support for vulnerable nations, noting that science still offers a path to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, though ‘the window is closing’.
He also addressed the governance of technology, warning that artificial intelligence must serve humanity, not control it. “No machine should decide who lives or dies,” he stated, calling for global standards to harness technology responsibly.
Finally, he stressed the need for a stronger, better-funded UN, criticising the stark imbalance where ‘for every dollar invested in building peace, the world spends US$750 on weapons of war’.
Guterres’ speech culminated in a deeply personal reflection. Recalling his youth in post-authoritarian Portugal, where ‘fear silenced voices and hope was nearly crushed’, he credited his experience with teaching him that ‘real power rises from people – from our shared resolve to uphold dignity’.
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Courtesy Pic)
