Over 190 world leaders spoke from the General Assembly podium during high-level week - underscoring the UN's enduring relevance as a form of "life insurance" for many of the world's developing countries, said President Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference marking the close of the annual general debate, she stressed that the high attendance - 189 countries, including 124 heads of state - showed the world still looks to the UN as a unique forum for the world.
"If anybody had a doubt, if this Organization still matters or still is relevant, you could see it, how crowded the room was," she said.
Focus on peace and security
The many conflicts raging dominated proceedings inside the General Assembly Hall, with leaders referencing the intractable wars in Gaza , Ukraine , Sudan and beyond.
Ms. Baerbock noted that peace and security were consistently linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underscoring that "without delivering on the 2030 Agenda , sustainable peace won't be reached."
She said the discussions also highlighted the climate crisis as the defining threat of the century and one that will require all nations to work collectively to manage it. Many leaders made clear that failure to act should not be blamed on the UN itself but on Member States' collective will, she added.
The Assembly President described the UN as a place of " hot debates about the hot topics ," but said those exchanges are a sign of the organization's vitality, not weakness.
Calls for reform
UN reform - particularly of the global financial system and the Security Council - was another clarion call made in speeches and bilateral meetings.
Ms. Baerbock urged leaders to carry those discussions back home: "It's one thing to give a speech at the United Nations. But then when you're faced again with debates in your national parliament, it might sound a bit different."
By the numbers
The 80th General Assembly session opened under the theme Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development and Human Rights.
- 194 speakers addressed the hall: 189 of the 193 UN Member States, three observers (Palestine, the Holy See and the EU), and Secretary-General António Guterres and Ms. Baerbock.
- Only 24 women leaders took the podium - though that marked a modest increase from 2024.
- The UN Secretary-General held 148 bilateral meetings and delivered 20 speeches, while more than 3,300 journalists were in New York to cover UNGA80.
Shaping the future together
In addition to formal speeches, conferences and side events explored pressing issues ranging from regulating artificial intelligence, to tackling non-communicable diseases .
Civil society experts, ministers and youth leaders took part in frank debate, which Ms. Baerbock said showed the UN's essential role in shaping the future.
She described moments of solidarity, such as the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on women's rights, when "one female leader spoke after the other."
"This week really mattered," Ms. Baerbock said. "So, we keep up working unafraid and unbroken and in the spirit of our year-long campaign - Better Together."
