The United Nations marked its 80th anniversary on Monday (September 22) with calls to confront global crises with unity and resolve, warning that the founding principles of the institution are under severe strain. Opening the commemorative session of the General Assembly, President Annalena Baerbock painted a stark picture of today’s conflicts and humanitarian disasters. "We see children without parents searching for food in the ruins of Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine, sexual violence in Sudan, gangs terrorizing people in Haiti, unfiltered hatred online, and floods and droughts all over the world," she said. "Is this a world envisioned in our charter? Do we really need to relearn the hard lessons?". Baerbock emphasized that the day was not about celebration but remembrance and recommitment. She invoked the theme of the session, Better Together. "This is a story of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people who tried to turn hope into something real," she said, praising aid workers and peacekeepers risking their lives in conflict zones. "Hope at this 80th anniversary means this session is remembered not only for its milestone year, but as the moment when we called on extraordinary resolve equal to the extraordinary challenges we face," she said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the urgency, warning that U.N. principles are "under assault as never before." He rejected the idea that peace is naive, calling it "the most courageous, the most practical, the most necessary pursuit of all." World leaders gather in New York every September for the annual United Nations General Assembly, which on Tuesday (September 23) begins its 80th session. The 193-member world body hosts six days of speeches by nearly 150 heads of state or government along with dozens more ministers.

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VIDEO SHOWS: U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMEMORATES THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: UNITED NATIONS (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (UNTV - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT, ANNALENA BAERBOCK, CALLING MEETING TO ORDER (NOT A SOUNDBITE)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT, ANNALENA BAERBOCK, SAYING:

"We see children without parents searching for food in the ruins of Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine, sexual violence in Sudan, gangs terrorizing people in Haiti, unfiltered hatred online, and floods and droughts all over the world. Is this a world envisioned in our charter? Do we really need to relearn the hard lessons? Today is not about celebrating. It's about remembering those hard lessons and drawing on the courage to once again agree to find hope instead of resignation, to find the spirit from 80 years ago once again, to choose the right path, not because of any guarantee, but because of the conviction that it's the right thing to do."

3. BAERBOCK

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT, ANNALENA BAERBOCK, SAYING:

"For 80 years, this institution has driven progress on sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights. Today's commemoration is not the story of an institution. It's a story of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who tried to turn hope into something real - the people who stood between war and peace and chose peace, the people who are risking their lives to deliver food in Gaza, the people who are supplying education materials to girls in Afghanistan, the people who not only wear the symbol of the United Nations, but are out there on the ground, showing how we are better together. This is why this is the theme of this 80th session: 'Better Together.' It's more than a hot motto. It's a hard won truth. It's our commitment for the next 80 years. Our commitment to not only hope for problems to vanish, but to find the courage to confront them. Better together means to act, where action is hard. To choose dialogue and diplomacy when division is easier. Hope at this 80th anniversary means that this session is not remembered not only for its milestone year, but as the moment when we called on extraordinary resolve equal to the extraordinary challenges we face. We owe this to the people - to the men and women, boys and girls who are not giving up, even in the darkest hours of war, who look, still, to the streaming Blue Flag for hope - the flag of our United Nations - not perfect, not finished, but always better together."

5. BAERBOCK LEAVING LECTERN

6. DELEGATES APPLAUDING

7. VARIOUS OF BAERBOCK AND U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL, ANTONIO GUTERRES, SITTING AT PODIUM OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HALL

8. GUTERRES APPROACHING LECTERN

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL, ANTONIO GUTERRES, SAYING:

"There is a persistent myth that peace is naïve. That justice is sentimental. That the only 'real' politics is the politics of power and self-interest. But those early staff were not idealists untouched by reality. They had seen war. And they knew: Peace is the most courageous, the most practical, the most necessary pursuit of all. In building the United Nations, they created something extraordinary. A place where all nations - large and small - could come together to solve problems that no country can solve alone. And yet, at this moment, the principles of the United Nations are under assault as never before. As we meet, civilians are targeted, and international law trampled in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond. As we meet, poverty and hunger are on the rise as progress on the Sustainable Development Goals falters. As we meet, the planet burns, with fires, floods, and record heat raging through climate chaos. At the same time, we are moving towards a multipolar world. But without strong multilateral institutions, multipolarity has its risks - as Europe learned in the First World War. To meet these challenges, we must not only defend the United Nations, we must strengthen it. That is the purpose of Agenda 2030, the Pact for the Future, and the UN80 initiative: to renew the foundations of international cooperation, and to ensure that we can deliver for people everywhere."

10. GUTERRES AT LECTERN

11. DELEGATES APPLAUDING

12. GUTERRES LEAVING LECTERN