NEW YORK — Outgoing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a farewell address to the General Assembly, challenging the United Nations, the 193 countries in the General Assembly, and humanity to uphold the law before impunity becomes normalized. The annual global gathering of world leaders at the United Nations ended last week.

Guterres issued a series of specific challenges to the international community during his final remarks. He urged member states to end wars before they consume generations and to tackle inequality before societies fracture. The outgoing chief also called on the world to accelerate climate action before tipping points are crossed and to govern artificial intelligence before it governs humanity.

"The world does not need a weaker United Nations," Guterres said. "It needs a U.N. strong enough to face the world as it is, and determined enough to build the world as it should."

The 81-year-old institution has been sidelined from efforts to end the wars in Iran, Ukraine, and Gaza. Guterres, who has served as Secretary-General for 10 years, emphasized the stakes of the current moment. "Our shared future will be forged by whether humanity can govern power wisely," he said.

The selection process for the next United Nations secretary-general is ongoing, with the successor scheduled to take office on January 1. The top priority for the next United Nations secretary-general is reconfiguring the organization to reflect the 21st century rather than the post-World War II era. Kizito Byenkya, an Advocacy Director, noted the magnitude of the challenge facing the incoming leader.

"The new U.N. chief will have the most monumental task that the U.N. has faced in decades because you have a U.N. that’s going through this critical reform process that it has not gone through for a long time," Byenkya said. "In the time of Kofi Annan, he was central to all," Kizito Byenkya said.

Byenkya questioned the current role of the organization in major crises. "If you look at the conflicts we've been facing in the last few years, let's say from Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine and more, you often have to ask yourself: Where has the role of the United Nations been with all of these?" Byenkya asked. "You have huge pressure on all sides for the new secretary-general to act like a general and really play a central role in mediation for world conflicts," he added.

The United Nations faces a severe financial crisis. The United States owes billions of dollars to the United Nations, contributing to a situation that has forced major cuts to its humanitarian and development programs. The financial crisis has led to budget cuts and efforts to consolidate programs and agencies. As part of these efficiency measures, the United Nations is eliminating hundreds of mandates that order the Secretariat to take actions and deliver reports.

Reform of the Security Council remains a central topic of debate among member states. Leaders spoke of the need for reform during the high-level week at the United Nations. Differences emerge among member nations regarding how to expand the United Nations Security Council, and progress on Security Council reform has been stymied for decades.

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, and France, and they hold veto power. The U.N. Charter, adopted in 1945, established the Security Council with five permanent members and ten non-permanent members, but did not include any provisions for expansion or reform. The Security Council expanded from 11 to 15 members in 1965, but no further changes to permanent membership have occurred since.

Critics of the current structure point to regional imbalances. Africa, home to 1.5 billion people, has no permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Latin America has no permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and island nations threatened by climate change have no permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The General Assembly initiated intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in 2008, with ongoing discussions spanning multiple sessions, including a 2025 decision to continue reforms during the 80th session. In 2023, the General Assembly passed Resolution 78/561, which called for an urgent review of the composition of the Security Council to reflect the current global order. During the 2025 High-Level Week, 127 member states supported a resolution calling for immediate Security Council reform, marking the highest level of support in over a decade.

John Mahama, President of Ghana, addressed these disparities in his own address. "Security Council reform is not a favour to Africa. It is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility, and survival of the United Nations," Mahama said.

Mahama, who has consistently advocated for African representation in the UN Security Council, including during his tenure as Chair of the African Union in 2017, pointed to a dangerous drift toward unilateralism. "We must address the alarming breakdown of global order today," Mahama said. He stated that the principle of preventing a repetition of the 20th century’s two world wars must reign supreme over the doctrine that might makes right.

Why It Matters

The transition in leadership comes at a time when the United Nations faces simultaneous financial and structural crises. The organization's ability to mediate conflicts has been constrained by geopolitical divisions within the Security Council, particularly regarding wars in Gaza and Ukraine. With the next secretary-general set to take office on January 1, the incoming leader will inherit an institution undergoing a critical reform process that has stalled for decades. The financial shortfall, driven largely by unpaid dues from major contributors like the United States, has necessitated program cuts and the elimination of hundreds of mandates, reducing the Secretariat's operational capacity.

Demand for Security Council reform has reached a peak, with 127 member states supporting a resolution for immediate changes during the 2025 High-Week. The lack of permanent representation for Africa, Latin America, and small island states continues to challenge the legitimacy of the body in the eyes of many member nations. As Guterres departs after ten years, the call for a United Nations strong enough to face the world as it is reflects the urgency of adapting an 81-year-old institution to 21st-century realities.

What's New

Additional context shows the historical scope of the challenges facing the next secretary-general. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was directly involved in mediating the 2004 Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leading to the establishment of the Mitchell Report and subsequent peace talks.

Further background details the professional history of the outgoing chief and recent institutional failures. Antonio Guterres, prior to becoming Secretary-General, served as the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 2005 to 2015, where he led humanitarian efforts in over 30 countries. In 2025, the Security Council's failure to act on conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan led to direct criticism from Secretary-General Guterres, who accused the body of deepening geopolitical divisions and failing to uphold its mandate.

The United Nations Security Council has been unable to pass a resolution on the situation in Gaza since 2023 due to repeated vetoes by the United States and Russia. The United Nations Security Council has had only one female president in its history, with the first being a non-permanent member from the Global South.