António Guterres
UN Secretary-General in his final months before term expires December 31, 2026, simultaneously pressing global AI governance frameworks, condemning Israeli settlement expansion, defending UNRWA's survival, and urging US-Iran de-escalation while facing a full diplomatic rupture with Israel.
António Guterres is running an unusually broad crisis agenda in the final months of his term as UN Secretary-General, with no single front dominant. In the past week he condemned Israel's granting of city status to the Givat Ze'ev settlement, calling all settlements flagrant violations of international law, and addressed the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, where he urged an inclusive global AI partnership and announced recommendations for a Global Fund for AI. More than 20 countries have nominated centers for a UN-supported AI capacity-building network.
His AI governance drive is the most sustained thread of the past month. He opened and closed the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva (July 6-8), calling for harmonized guardrails, an AI Child Safety Pledge, renewable-powered data centers by 2030, and a ban on lethal autonomous weapons he called \"morally repugnant.\" He launched the AI for Good Global Commission, co-chaired by Paul Kagame and Marc Benioff, and an Environmental Transparency Initiative at London Climate Action Week demanding AI firms disclose their carbon, water, and land footprints. He separately warned that AI is \"super-charging\" terrorist recruitment and financing.
The Israel-UN relationship has ruptured. Ambassador Danny Danon called his legacy a \"moral disgrace\" and Israel's Foreign Ministry announced plans to sever ties with his office, amid clashes over UN blacklists documenting Israeli forces' responsibility for a record 12,445 grave violations against children. Guterres defended UNRWA as a \"stabilising force\" and rejected the US-backed Board of Peace's push to remove it from Gaza, while warning that a $100 million shortfall could push conditions past the breaking point.
He urged US-Iran de-escalation after the July 12 strike-counterstrike cycle, an appeal Iran rejected as interference. He called the Security Council \"outdated, unfair, and ineffective\" on the UN Charter anniversary, appointed Rabab Fatima to lead the Afghanistan mission, and met India's Jaishankar as Delhi campaigned for a Council seat. A June 16 Haiti visit saw him apologize to displaced civilians for global indifference, calling it \"the biggest disgrace.\"
On their plate
Guterres addressed the World AI Conference in Shanghai on July 17, urging an inclusive global AI partnership and announcing recommendations for a Global Fund for AI. More than 20 countries including China have nominated centers for a UN-supported Global Network for AI Capacity Building. This caps a month-long drive that included the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva (July 6-8), the launch of the AI for Good Global Commission co-chaired by Paul Kagame and Marc Benioff, and an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative demanding major firms disclose carbon, water, and land footprints and commit to 100% renewable data centers by 2030.
Guterres condemned Israel's granting of city status to the Givat Ze'ev settlement on July 16, calling all Israeli settlements flagrant violations of international law and primary obstacles to a two-state solution. He had earlier reported to the Security Council that settlement growth and military raids caused the most severe Palestinian displacement since 1967. Israel's ambassador Danny Danon called his legacy a "moral disgrace" and the Foreign Ministry announced plans to sever all ties with his office, amid clashes over UN blacklists on sexual violence and children in armed conflict.
Guterres defended UNRWA as a "stabilising force in an age of instability" and rejected the US-backed Board of Peace's push to remove the agency from Gaza. At a New York pledging conference he warned that UNRWA's $100 million shortfall and $175 million in austerity cuts could push conditions past the breaking point. He also condemned Netanyahu's vow to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, calling for adherence to international law.
Guterres warned on July 12 that the US-Iran strike-counterstrike cycle could bring catastrophic consequences for global peace and the international economy, urging both sides to urgently resume negotiations. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected the appeal as lawful self-defense. He later urged all parties to honor the ceasefire and redouble stabilization efforts after UNCTAD warned 61 vulnerable economies face prolonged recovery from the 100-day Strait of Hormuz paralysis.
Marking the UN Charter anniversary in San Francisco on June 26, Guterres called the Security Council an "outdated, unfair, and ineffective system" that has "systematically failed" to resolve conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza, saying it "doesn't correspond to the world of today." He met India's External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on July 13 as India launched its campaign for a non-permanent Council seat for 2028-29. He also appointed Rabab Fatima of Bangladesh as Special Representative for Afghanistan on July 15, succeeding Roza Otunbayeva.
Key relationships
Joined Guterres at the closing of the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva on July 7, where he called for a mechanism worthy of global trust.
Met at UN HQ on July 13 to discuss cooperation and geopolitical developments in Ukraine, Sudan, and West Asia as India campaigned for a non-permanent Security Council seat.
Israel's UN ambassador who called Guterres's legacy a "moral disgrace" and clashed with UN officials over blacklist reports as Israel's Foreign Ministry announced plans to sever ties with the Secretary-General's office.
Met in Port-au-Prince on June 16 to launch the UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force replacing the under-funded MSS mission, discussing security and stalled elections.
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