World leaders gathered in pre-recorded videos for an unprecedented opening of the General Assembly’s annual general debate today, as the United Nations Secretary-General described the epic upheaval wreaked by COVID-19 across the globe, wiping out decades of development gains and laying down an ultimatum for nations to stand united in weathering the human and economic onslaught.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ address to the General Assembly, in New York today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the General Assembly meeting marking the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, in New York today:

In a high-level meeting to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, world leaders in the General Assembly gathered in a virtual format today to adopt a declaration honouring the multilateral framework put in place by its founders in 1945 and pledging to better live out the promise to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.