What were the closing remarks at the UNGA 2026?

Here are the highlights and key takeaways from the closing remarks at the 81st UN General Assembly general debate, delivered by General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman.

Highlights

• Peace dominated the room. President Rahman observed that peace was spoken of not as a distant aspiration but as an urgent defense of the UN Charter, international law and the protection of civilians, requiring "prevention, mediation and diplomacy, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, adherence to international law and investment in the conditions that sustain peace."

• Development is falling behind. With only a fraction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, the UN's 17 global targets covering poverty, climate, education and more) on track, President Rahman issued a blunt verdict on whether more should have been done: "The answer must be a resounding yes."

• Inequality shapes who gets heard. He observed that countries carrying the greatest debt burdens, climate vulnerability and fiscal constraints also have among the least influence over the institutions shaping the global economy.

• AI arrived as the defining new subject. From artificial intelligence to migration, some of the forces reshaping the twenty-first century took center stage, and leaders wrestled with a common dilemma: how to harness profound technological and social change without allowing it to deepen the divisions already separating countries and communities. President Rahman noted that just four years ago only five delegations raised AI in the hall; this year 128 did. His pointed line on the subject: "No machine possesses democratic legitimacy. No algorithm inherits constitutional responsibility."

• Human rights face their hardest tests. He pointed to the treatment of civilians, minorities, migrants and refugees, and the exclusion of women and girls from education, employment and public life.

Trust is the hardest deficit to repair. President Rahman closed with the line that framed everything:

"Trust cannot be commanded. It must be earned through consistency between words and deeds."

Priorities

• Reform of the UN Security Council, with President Rahman describing Africa's continued exclusion from permanent membership as an injustice.
• Human-centered AI governance that is inclusive and gives developing countries a real seat at the table.
• Multilateralism judged by whether collective action "changes realities on the ground," not by resolutions passed.
• Appointment of the next UN Secretary-General, who will succeed António Guterres, whose final address warned that the future would be shaped by four tests: AI, climate change, wars and inequality.

In his own words

On what peace meant in the hall:

"But peace was spoken of less as a distant aspiration than as an urgent defence of the UN Charter, international law and the protection of civilians." (closing remarks, 29 September 2026)

On development:

"The answer must be a resounding yes." (on whether more should have been done to advance the SDGs)

On AI governance:

"No machine possesses democratic legitimacy. No algorithm inherits constitutional responsibility."

On trust:

"Trust cannot be commanded. It must be earned through consistency between words and deeds."

On what comes next:

"This is only the beginning of the session."

António Guterres, in his final address before his term ends:

"Across all four tests, the decisive issue is power. Power over force, money, energy, technology, rules and the future. That is why the UN Charter – and the work of the United Nations – matter more than ever."

Worth knowing

Closing the annual general debate, President Rahman said leaders had confronted a world of conflict, stalled development, deepening inequality and rapidly accelerating technological change, but that amid sharply differing perspectives, he heard a common conviction: the United Nations remains indispensable.

The 81st United Nations General Assembly concluded with artificial intelligence, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the US-Israel war on Iran dominating world leaders' addresses during the general debate. The closing of the debate does not close the session itself: the 193-member Assembly moves into its six Main Committees through December, and the appointment of Guterres's successor as Secretary-General remains the most consequential decision ahead.

Khalilur Rahman, Bangladesh's former Foreign Minister, was elected President of the General Assembly for the 81st session, presiding under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all."

Watch and read the full speech

Read the full official closing statement on the UN General Assembly debate site