At UN General Assembly, Leaders Press Case for Prevention and Inclusion

The opening day of the 2026 United Nations General Assembly General Debate saw a procession of leaders set out their priorities, with several voices that drew less global attention making pointed appeals on prevention, representation and the reach of distant wars.

Sylvanie Burton, president of Dominica, argued that the value of the world body should be measured by what it stops, not only by how it responds once people have already suffered. The true test, she said, lies in how well nations work together to prevent that suffering in the first place.

Angola's president, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, called for African voices to be heard in every strategic decision-making process, listing peace, global security, development financing, climate issues and the governance of artificial intelligence as areas where the continent must be included.

Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, president of Mongolia, offered a proverb from his country: if you do your best, fate will do the rest.

Peru's president, Keiko Fujimori, pledged a sustained campaign against crime, saying her government would pursue offenders from the individual who carries out an act to the network that sustains it, and would not retreat before those who seek to impose terror over the rule of law.

King Abdullah II of Jordan described a chain of protracted conflicts stretching from Lebanon to Yemen to Sudan that is deepening humanitarian suffering. He said the consequences do not stay in the region, pointing to the energy and grocery bills of ordinary families from Mumbai to Madrid to Minnesota.

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, focused on Gaza's children, saying they must be safe and that when Palestinian children look at the sky they should see kites flying freely rather than fighter jets, UAVs or drones.

Chile's president, José Antonio Kast, declared simply that his country is back, adding that the phrase is more than a slogan.

Mathew Herminie, president of Seychelles, said his country is guided by a foundational principle of being a friend to all and an enemy to none. Non-alignment, he said, is not passive indifference but an active choice for peace, rooted in the conviction that principled diplomacy, mutual respect and international law are the true foundations of global stability.

Lee Jae Myung, president of South Korea, asked whether the United Nations today is capable of saving humanity from war, poverty and disaster, and whether it is living up to its promise of restoring peace and achieving sustainable development. He said his country, which he described as having risen through the solidarity of the international community, is resolved to lead efforts to restore the spirit of the UN and reconnect the world.