Remarks by the President of the UN General Assembly,
H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang,
Plenary meeting on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War
Wednesday, 7 May, 2025
[As Delivered]
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On this 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, we reflect on the immense sacrifices made by the millions who fought and died to secure the freedoms we too often take for granted.
We remember them.
And we honour them.
Their courage, resilience, and unwavering faith in a better future continue to inspire us.
As time passes, these commemorations take on a deeper meaning.
Most surviving veterans are now centenarians.
The opportunity to hear their voices firsthand grows vanishingly rare.
Preserving their stories is not only a tribute to them, it is a moral responsibility for us all.
We must ensure that the lessons they leave behind do not fade but endure.
Your Excellencies,
The United Nations was built to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
Its founders were not naive idealists.
They were practitioners of statecraft, tested by conflict and forged by history.
They had seen the world torn apart.
And they resolved to build a framework strong enough to hold it together.
When they conceived the Charter of the United Nations, our great Organisation, they knew that peace would not sustain itself.
Peace would require structure.
Peace would require vigilance.
And above all, it would require shared responsibility.
We are all required to build the global peace we desire.
To reaffirm faith in human rights.
To foster social progress.
To raise standards of life in greater freedom.
These were not abstract ideals.
They were—and remain—concrete imperatives.
Yet today, far too often, we see the principles of the Charter of the United Nations ignored, undermined—or outrightly violated.
As conflict spreads and global peace comes under strain, we must renew our commitment to the Charter’s founding ideals.
If we fail to do so, we risk once again treading the path that led the world into war and catastrophe.
The efforts of the founders, and the sacrifices of those who endured and perished to deliver us a better world, must not be in vain.
I call on the leaders of today to choose dialogue over conflict.
Diplomacy over escalation.
Cooperation over division.
Peace over the absence of peace.
We stand at a defining moment—not only for this institution, but for the whole of humanity.
All humanity looks up to the United Nations.
The choices we make today will shape the world our children inherit, and the legacy we leave on all humanity.
Let us choose wisely.
Let us choose peace.
Thank you.
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Media Contacts
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Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/ Social and Digital Media/Media Relations, M: +1 917 3614990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org
