UN Secretary-General urged world powers to uphold international maritime law and overcome geopolitical rivalries, warning that growing threats are endangering global trade, marine ecosystems and international peace. Addressing a high-level debate of the Security Council, António Guterres said that oceans and seas are “sending a clear SOS,” as maritime spaces face escalating pressure from both traditional threats and new dangers – including piracy, armed robbery, trafficking, terrorism, cyberattacks and territorial disputes. “From time immemorial, maritime routes have bound the world together,” he said.

The United Nations will never forget the staff members killed nearly 23 years ago in the attack on its headquarters in Iraq, the Secretary-General said in the capital. António Guterres was speaking during a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial in Baghdad to honour the victims of the 19 August 2003 Canal Hotel bombing - the worst terrorist attack in UN history. Twenty-two people were killed, including the then UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.  More than 100 others were injured, and several survivors attended the ceremony.

UN Secretary-General renewed his call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and upheld the need for a two-State solution between Israelis and Palestinians, in a speech on Saturday to the League of Arab States Summit in Baghdad. António Guterres told leaders meeting in the Iraqi capital that “the region and the world face trials and tests on all fronts,” starting with the situation in Gaza. He reiterated that neither the atrocious 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas nor the collective punishment of the Palestinian people can be justified.

The future of peacekeeping took centre stage on Tuesday in Berlin as UN chief António Guterres urged Member States to do more to support the global body’s 'blue helmets' and stave off the worst impacts of deep funding cuts. Addressing the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025 in the German capital, the Secretary-General told dozens of ministers from more than 130 countries that peacekeepers remain key to “help countries move from conflict to peace.”

More than 130 countries and international partners threw their weight behind UN peacekeeping at a high-level ministerial summit in Berlin, pledging military, tech and political support. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that peace operations are under growing strain and must adapt to meet today’s rising threats. “In trouble spots around the world, ‘blue helmets’ can mean the difference between life and death,” Mr. Guterres said in his opening remarks. “Now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations. And the United Nations needs peacekeeping that is fully equipped for today’s realities and tomorrow’s challenges.”