Guterres Warns of 'Ethnic Cleansing' Risk in West Bank at UN Assembly
"Violence, displacement, and settlement expansion by Israel in the occupied West Bank are bulldozing the path to peace and raising the specter of ethnic cleansing," Guterres said in his address to the 81st UN General Assembly in New York. "We cannot allow the two-state solution to disappear before our eyes," he added.
Guterres said the dire situation in the occupied Palestinian territories cannot be sidelined amid the wider turmoil gripping the Middle East. He called the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas "abhorrent," but said they were followed by "an onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza, with a scale of killing and destruction unlike anything I've witnessed in my years as secretary-general."
He noted that the International Court of Justice had issued legally binding provisional measures in the case concerning the application of the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip, and referenced an advisory opinion from the court stating that the UN must be permitted to carry out its mandates in Gaza, with its staff and humanitarian personnel protected. "All parties must comply with international law and the court's orders," he stressed.
Appeal for de-escalation
Turning to the broader region, Guterres said conflicts were "cascading" across the Middle East, and that so-called ceasefires had amounted to "little more than lesser fires," leaving civilians to bear the brunt.
"I appeal to the leaders in this chamber to maximize this high-level week for de-escalation and dialogue," he said, urging the international community to send an unambiguous message: the fighting must end, humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow, and navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored under international law.
On Ukraine, Guterres said Russia's war had subjected a sovereign nation to "a brutal war in blatant violation" of the UN Charter. He characterized the conflict in Sudan as "a war on civilians," citing mass displacement, hunger, attacks on hospitals and homes, sexual violence and ethnically driven assaults. He also warned that Myanmar's crisis risks slipping from global attention.
Guterres renewed his call for reform of the UN Security Council, declaring: "A 21st-century Security Council without permanent African seats is unjust and indefensible."
AI requires global oversight
Guterres said global power today is increasingly derived from data, computing capacity and algorithms — resources that remain highly concentrated among a small number of actors. "The danger is not technology. The danger is technology without accountability, capability without oversight, decision-making without transparency," he said.
Countries with the most advanced AI capabilities also bear the greatest responsibility, he said, calling on them to share information on emerging safety risks, cooperate on testing, and work toward common safeguards. Guterres urged the creation of a multilateral AI risk-management framework backed by credible, independent oversight — one that ensures no country is left behind.
"Artificial intelligence must be shaped by humanity, with humanity, and for all humanity," he said, adding that "children must never become the test subjects for unregulated systems."
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