World leaders back UN call to face challenges together, Trump sticks to 'America First'

From France to South Korea, South Africa to Suriname, world leaders rallied on Tuesday behind the United Nations secretary-general’s appeal for collective action to confront pressing global challenges — war, poverty, and the climate crisis. In stark contrast, US President Donald Trump struck a discordant note, doubling down on his 'America First' vision.

Opening the UN General Assembly’s annual gathering of heads of state and government, Secretary-General António Guterres urged nations to embrace cooperation over division, calling for a future where global solidarity triumphs over narrow self-interest. He appealed for a commitment to peace rather than conflict, to the rule of law rather than lawlessness, and to shared progress rather than fragmentation.

French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stark warning that the world risks repeating old mistakes, 80 years after the UN was founded on the ruins of World War II. “We're isolating ourselves,” Macron declared. “There's more and more divisions, and that's plagued the global order. The world is breaking down, and that's halting our collective capacity to resolve the major conflicts of our time and stopping us from addressing global challenges.”

Yet Macron insisted that complexity must not serve as an excuse for abandoning the UN’s guiding values of peace, justice, human rights, and multilateral collaboration. Only mutual respect and cooperative engagement, he said, would allow nations to tackle nuclear proliferation, the climate emergency, and the opportunities and risks of the digital age.

Calls for collaboration

Speaker after speaker echoed the same refrain: multilateralism remains indispensable. Suriname’s President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons hailed multilateralism as “one of humanity's most important achievements, which needs our protection at this time of change”.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised that “our collective membership of the United Nations is our shared humanity in action”, arguing that the UN’s 80th anniversary compels members to create “an organisation that is able to address our common challenges”.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung struck a similar chord, remarking: “The more difficult the times are, the more we must return to the basic spirit of the UN. We today must cooperate more, trust more, and join hands more firmly, in order to build a better future, a better world for future generations.”

The assembly is due to reconvene on Wednesday, with the leaders of Ukraine, Iran and Syria expected to deliver their own interventions.

Guterres also reflected on shifting global power structures, noting the increasingly multipolar nature of the world. While acknowledging that this could bring diversity and dynamism, he warned of the dangers of disorder in the absence of robust international cooperation and strong global institutions. “Chaos”, he cautioned, was the alternative.

Trump, however, refused to cede ground. Delivering his first UN address since winning re-election last November, he gave a full-throated defence of his 'America First' policy. He extolled the United States’ unmatched strength: “The United States has the strongest borders, military, friendships and the strongest spirit of any nation on the face of the earth. This is indeed the golden age of America.”

In contrast, he dismissed the United Nations as ineffective and “not even coming close to living up” to its potential, even going so far as to blame the organisation for a stalled escalator and a malfunctioning teleprompter. UN officials pointed to safety mechanisms behind the escalator issue, while the White House acknowledged responsibility for the faulty equipment.

Trump meets Guterres

Despite his harsh words from the podium, Trump struck a more conciliatory tone in a later meeting with Guterres. “Our country is behind the United Nations 100 per cent,” he assured the secretary-general. “I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it because the potential for peace at this institution is great.”

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described their private discussion as constructive, telling the Associated Press: “At least we've got a conversation going. This is dialogue. This is diplomacy. And it's technicolor — and it's glorious.”

According to Fletcher, the two leaders discussed global conflicts, efficiency reforms, the role of the private sector, and humanitarian assistance. Yet financial pressures continue to hang over the UN, with the United States — historically its largest donor — among those cutting contributions.

Guterres lamented that funding cuts were “wreaking havoc”, describing them as “a death sentence for many”. Fletcher noted that the UN’s humanitarian appeal for $29 billion in 2025 is currently just 19 per cent funded, calling the situation “a work in progress” as he continues discussions with governments in the Middle East, Europe, and the US.

Wars in Ukraine and Gaza dominate

Meanwhile, at UN headquarters, the Security Council convened emergency back-to-back sessions on two of the world’s most intractable conflicts: Ukraine, now in its fourth year following Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Gaza, where Israel’s war against Hamas has raged since October 2023.

In a surprising shift, Trump took to social media shortly after meeting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, declaring that he now believes Ukraine can reclaim all of its lost territories — a sharp reversal from his earlier calls for Kyiv to accept territorial concessions.

On Gaza, the United States once again found itself isolated. Just a day after France and others added their names to the growing list of states recognising Palestinian statehood, the Security Council exposed the widening gulf between Washington and much of the international community.

While most members demanded an immediate ceasefire and greater humanitarian access, new US ambassador Mike Waltz condemned the meeting as a “charade” and criticised its scheduling during Rosh Hashanah, which prevented Israeli participation.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, speaking earlier at the General Assembly, said it was an “illusion” to view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as a credible partner for peace, citing its “hostile rhetoric and violations of the sovereignty of Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Tunisia and most recently Qatar.”

He pressed delegates to confront the core issue of Palestinian statehood: “How long before we recognise the Palestinians as people who aspire to the same things you and I do — and we act on that recognition? How long before we recognise that statehood is not something Palestinians need to earn? It is not a reward — it is an indisputable right.”

With AP/PTI inputs