Secretary-General António Guterres and General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock reaffirmed the principles outlined in the UN Charter and called for a renewed commitment to multilateralism at a General Assembly meeting on Friday marking the Charter’s 81st anniversary.
“The Charter was a promise to the world: That humanity can choose cooperation over chaos; law over lawlessness; dignity over domination; and hope over fear,” Mr. Guterres said.
Signed on 26 June 1945, the Charter is the founding document of the United Nations. It codified the major principles of international relations and outlined the UN’s goals of maintaining peace and security, reaffirming fundamental human rights, establishing the conditions for cooperation between states, and promoting social progress.
Since then, 26 June has been recognized as UN Charter Day. The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Better Together: One Charter, One Future.”
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UN Photo/Yould The UN Charter being signed by a delegation at a ceremony held at the Veterans’ War Memorial Building on 26 June 1945. Uphold the Charter
At the General Assembly meeting on Friday, Mr. Guterres, Ms. Baerbock and several Member States renewed their commitments to the Charter’s principles.
The commemoration came as the UN faces growing criticism over its ability to prevent conflicts and address global crises, with both speakers arguing that current challenges demonstrate the need for stronger multilateral cooperation rather than its abandonment.
The Secretary-General said the UN’s founding promise of cooperation and dignity is under immense strain, citing wars of territorial expansion, civilians being targeted, broken ceasefires and selective enforcement of international law as examples of global challenges.
Mr. Guterres applauded the UN’s accomplishments, including peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, vaccination campaigns, conflict mediation, international justice and development assistance.
“The United Nations has never been perfect, but it is irreplaceable,” he said.
He added that the Charter is “not an à la carte menu,” arguing that countries cannot selectively apply its principles on sovereignty, international law and human rights.
Calls for reform to strengthen the UN
Responding to criticisms, Mr. Guterres and Ms. Baerbock called for reform but stressed that this reform should strengthen multilateralism and preserve the UN, rather than weakening it.
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Ms. Baerbock argued the UN’s existence itself is “a miracle of humanity,” noting that today’s 193 Member States would struggle to create such an institution from scratch.
She also recognized the UN’s shortcomings, including its failure to prevent conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, and argued that the UN80 reform initiative is an opportunity to make the organization more “agile and efficient.”
In her speech, Ms. Baerbock celebrated achievements such as UNICEF immunization campaigns that have saved more than 150 million children’s lives, decades of peacekeeping missions, expanded access to education and healthcare, and humanitarian assistance around the world, arguing that international cooperation remains essential to achieve these goals.
“Multilateralism has not failed,” Ms. Baerbock said. “Multilateralism works every day when humanitarian workers are delivering food even before sunrise in a crisis. Multilateralism works every day even if the Security Council is blocked, when peacekeepers protect civilians.”
Mr. Guterres and Ms. Baerbock framed the Charter’s 81st anniversary as a call to defend the Charter’s principles while modernizing the UN, arguing that global challenges cannot be addressed without international cooperation.