Three Principles for the Year ahead

Antonio Guterres United Nations Secretary-General

I will make every day of 2026 count. I am fully committed and fully determined to keep fighting, and to keep pushing for the better world that we know is possible.

In a world brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality, and unpredictability, we cannot afford complacency, denial or delay. We cannot be bystanders to injustice, indifference, or impunity.

We have the power to chart a different course.

As we are finding our bearings in these disorienting times, three principles must be at the foundation of all our actions:

We must adhere to the UN Charter – fully and faithfully

The Charter is a compact which binds us all. It is the foundation of international relations – the bedrock of peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

When leaders run roughshod over international law, when they pick and choose which rules to follow, they are not only undermining global order, they are setting a perilous precedent.

Increasingly, we see a world where the ultra-wealthiest and the companies they control are calling the shots like never before.

When a handful of individuals can bend global narratives, sway elections, or dictate the terms of public debate, we are not just facing inequality – we are facing the corruption of institutions and our shared values. 

Look no further than artificial intelligence and the algorithms shaping our lives.

These are too consequential to be controlled only by a few companies, or optimized only to monetize attention and outrage.

We must ensure humanity steers technology, not the other way around.

The concentration of power and wealth in so few hands is morally indefensible. More than that, it is a clear and present danger to the Charter and the promise of equal rights and dignity for all.

We must be relentless in our work for peace with justice – peace between nations and peace with nature

Conflicts have trapped millions of members of the human family in miserable, prolonged cycles of violence, hunger and displacement.

The suffering cannot go on.

Peace with justice means peace grounded in international law and on human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil and political – which are inalienable, indivisible and interdependent.

We must open the doors of opportunity for women and girls around the world. And I want to stress that we cannot, and will not, give in to the disturbing pushback on the rights of women – half of humanity – and the hard-won gains in equality, participation, and protection.

I am very proud that we achieved for the first time in UN history gender parity at senior levels. We are stronger for it, and we will keep going.

Peace with Nature

A world in climate chaos cannot be a world at peace.

Climate change is a threat multiplier – inflaming tensions over land, water and food; Forcing people from their homes; And tearing at the ecosystems we all depend on.

It is also a profound injustice that those least responsible are paying first and worst.

Climate justice is an investment in peace and security, because vulnerability anywhere becomes a risk everywhere – rippling through financial systems, supply chains and global stability. 

All of this essential to build a more equitable, peaceful, just and sustainable future 

We must build unity in an age of division.

Around the world, we see the risk of societies breaking down under the weight of racism, nationalist xenophobia, and religious bigotry.

The dangers are not abstract; they are visible in the daily lives of millions, supercharged by rhetoric and disinformation that seeks to exclude rather than embrace.

And it is not enough to denounce these impulses ideologically or to simply say “this is wrong”. 

Our challenge – and our priority – must be to build welcoming societies, where everyone’s identity is respected, and all feel they belong and are bound by shared civic values.

Harmony is never accidental, it requires deliberate policy resources and political courage

If we fail to put our common humanity first, we risk losing everything that makes us strong.

The choice is clear: inclusion or isolation, renewal or decline.   

The Charter gives us our compass. Our pursuit for peace with justice gives us our purpose. And our common humanity gives us the imperative to act.