Can you share the full speech?
The full text of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 2026 UN General Assembly speech is a public record, and here are the highlights and all substantive excerpts found across sources.
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Here are the highlights and excerpts from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Türkiye, speaking at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate, New York, September 22, 2026.
Highlights
- The UN has failed its mission. Erdogan argued that the organization established to preserve international peace and security can no longer do so, and placed the blame squarely on structural dysfunction rather than on member states acting in good faith.
- The past year was among the bloodiest in a generation. He described the preceding twelve months as one of the most violent periods in thirty years, pointing to more than sixty active conflicts and wars from Gaza to Ukraine, Myanmar to Darfur, Iran to Lebanon.
- Gaza is the center of the speech. He called Gaza "the most inhumane, most shameful concentration camp of our time" and said the ceasefire, which Türkiye helped broker with US support, had not stopped the killing, with more than 1,300 civilians dead since it took effect.
- The UN has been "bled out." He said the organization had been forced into dysfunction and was "bleeding out" in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan, with those who had placed their hopes in it left disappointed.
- Security Council reform is overdue. He pressed the assembly on the veto power held by five permanent members, arguing that subjecting the will of more than 190 countries to the decisions of five is neither fair nor capable of sustaining global trust.
- Palestinian statehood must be recognized. With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denied a US visa for the second consecutive year, Erdogan pledged Türkiye would continue to speak for Palestinian statehood from the UN podium.
- Social and global threats. He warned of rising Islamophobia, xenophobia and antisemitism, criticized headscarf bans as violations of women's rights, flagged disinformation on social media as a threat to social peace, and addressed climate change and artificial intelligence.
In his own words
On the UN's failure: "The United Nations, established 81 years ago to maintain international peace and security, is no longer able to fulfil this mission. Or more precisely, it has been rendered unable to do so."
On the scale of global violence: "The past 12 months have gone down in history as one of the bloodiest periods of the last 30 years, marked by more than 60 conflicts and wars from Gaza to Ukraine and Russia, from Myanmar to Darfur, from Iran to Lebanon."
On Security Council reform: "Let's recognize that a system in which the will of more than 190 countries is subject to the whims of five countries is neither fair nor capable of fully establishing trust."
On the ceasefire and civilian deaths: "With the support of President Trump, we contributed to a ceasefire. But despite this so-called ceasefire, more than 1,300 civilians have been murdered in Gaza."
On speaking for Palestine: "Let it be known that although President Abbas is unable to be with us here in person, we will, as we did last year, continue to be the voice of a free and sovereign state of Palestine."
On his personal commitment: "As long as God grants me life, I will continue to be the voice of the oppressed from this podium. We will not remain silent in the face of injustice, nor will we ever accept oppression."
On the UN's dysfunction: He said the UN has been forced into "dysfunction" and was "bleeding out" in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan.
On Gaza specifically: He described Gaza as "the most inhumane, most shameful concentration camp of our time," and said: "We face a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing. No one with humanity, mercy or conscience can turn a blind eye."
On acts against Israel: He accused Israel of "acts of state terror."
Worth knowing
This was Erdogan's 16th address to the UN General Assembly, his first appearance in 2005 as prime minister. His call that "the world is bigger than five" is a phrase he has returned to repeatedly over the years, arguing since 2009 that the Security Council's five permanent members, each holding veto power, no longer reflect how the world actually looks. The veto is the mechanism by which a single one of those five can block any Security Council resolution, regardless of how the other 190-plus member states vote.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, was denied a US entry visa for the second year running, making Erdogan's pledge to speak in his place more pointed than it might otherwise have been. The Israeli delegation, led by envoy Danny Danon, walked out of the hall as Erdogan spoke, with the Israeli ambassador's office calling the speech extraordinarily inflammatory.
Türkiye's claim to a brokering role rests on its position as a member of NATO, the Western military alliance, while simultaneously maintaining close ties with the Arab world and with Palestinian leadership, giving Erdogan a platform few other heads of state can claim.
Read the full speech
The UN's own page on the address is at the United Nations in Türkiye official page, and the full video in Turkish is available at youtube.com/watch?v=bpcl9jaTO9w, with an English-language full speech recording at youtube.com/watch?v=bAdrW5jnFVs.
Watch the video in Turkish
Watch the video in EnglishFollow-ups
Does the UN acknowledge Palestine as a nation? Is this in despute?
The UN does not recognize Palestine as a full member state, and yes, this is very much in dispute: Palestine holds a more limited status called 'non-member observer state,' which gives it a seat at the table but no vote, and the push for full membership has been blocked in the Security Council by the United States.
Here is how the layers of this actually work, because there is an important distinction between two different things: countries recognizing Palestine, and the UN admitting Palestine as a full member.
What the UN actually says about Palestine
As of September 2025, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 157 of the 193 UN member states, just over 81% of all UN members, and it has been a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly since November 2012. Being a non-member observer state means Palestine can sit in the room, speak, and participate in debates, but it cannot vote on resolutions the way full members can.
In May 2024, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution ES-10/23, which granted additional rights to the State of Palestine, including being seated with member states, the right to introduce proposals and agenda items, and to participate in committees, but did not grant them the right to vote.
Why full membership is blocked
Becoming a full UN member requires two steps. A state seeking UN membership must first apply to the secretary-general, who forwards the application to the Security Council. The application needs to obtain affirmation from at least nine of the Council's fifteen members and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members. If successful, the application moves to the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority vote is required for final approval.
Palestine clears the General Assembly hurdle easily. But despite overwhelming support for Palestinian statehood in the General Assembly, full UN membership remains out of reach due to opposition within the Security Council, primarily from the United States. The US vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council on a Palestinian bid to be granted full membership. The draft resolution would have recommended to the General Assembly that Palestine be admitted to membership, and it got 12 votes in its favor, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto.
How many countries recognize Palestine on their own
Separate from UN membership, individual countries can and do recognize Palestine bilaterally. In May 2024, Spain, Ireland, and Norway jointly recognized Palestine, followed by Slovenia, then Armenia and Mexico. A growing number of countries have since joined that chorus, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal.
The UN Secretary-General has also made his own position plain. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that "the occupation must end," adding that the State of Palestine must become a full member of the United Nations.
So where does that leave things? Palestine is recognized by most of the world, welcomed into the General Assembly as an observer, and supported by the UN's own leadership for full membership. The one door still closed is the Security Council, where a single veto from the United States has been enough to keep it from crossing the threshold.
What did he say about Africa?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan touched on Africa as part of a broader sweep through global conflicts, backing peace efforts in three specific countries and announcing a major upcoming summit on the continent.
On Africa, Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for efforts toward a ceasefire and lasting peace in Sudan, stronger security and institutional capacity in Somalia, and a Libyan-led reconciliation process in Libya.
He said Türkiye would continue supporting Libya's political process and announced that the fourth Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit would be held in Libya in December. The Partnership Summit is a recurring gathering where Türkiye and African heads of state align on trade, security and development priorities, and holding it in Libya carries a signal: it reinforces Türkiye's role as a stabilizing partner in a country where it has had military and diplomatic presence for years.
Africa was not the centerpiece of the speech, but it was woven into the same argument running through the whole address: that the UN has failed to manage the world's crises, and that bilateral and regional partnerships have to fill the gap. Sudan and Somalia are two of the continent's most active conflict zones, and naming them alongside Gaza and Ukraine placed Africa squarely inside Erdogan's broader case that the international order is broken across every region, not just the Middle East.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a blistering speech at the 81st UN General Assembly that sent the Israeli delegation walking out of the hall, centering his address on what he called a genocidal mindset in Gaza, the failure of the UN to act, and a demand that the world recognize Palestinian statehood.
Read that one firstSpeak on the world stage in your own way.
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