What did President Keiko Fujimori of Peru say at the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81)?

She addressed the general debate on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, as the eighth speaker of the morning session.

The speech in brief

• Another kind of war. Peru lives on a continent without wars between countries, she said, but faces drug trafficking, illegal mining and human trafficking run by transnational gangs.
• Gangs as terrorists. She called for criminal organizations to be classed as terrorist groups, and for a legal framework that lets the armed forces support the police.
• Working together. She cited the regional Santiago Commitment, and Peru joined the US-led Shield of the Americas the same day.
• Soldiers and police. She defended soldiers and police who fought terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s, saying their rights had been violated in court.
• Sovereignty. She asked the UN to act without ideological bias.

In her own words

She spoke in Spanish. The English quotes are published translations.

These organizations are terrorist groups and must be confronted for what they are: enemies of the democratic state and law-abiding citizens.

“El Perú está ubicado en un continente donde no hay guerra entre países. Sin embargo, afrontamos otro tipo de guerra.” Peru is on a continent with no wars between countries. Yet we face another kind of war.

“Addressing this war as an isolated problem for each nation is not only a mistake that we have been making, but also an advantage granted to transnational criminal groups to strengthen themselves.”

“The world does not require identical democracies, it requires legitimate democracies.”

Back home

• The head of Peru’s judiciary, Janet Tello, rejected her remarks about the trials of soldiers and police, citing the separation of powers. The Lima Chamber of Commerce praised the speech.

Watch and read the full speech

Video of the address:

The UN posts the statement on its general debate website.

Every Day 1 speaker, in order: What happened on Day 1 of UNGA 81.