The US believes its power is more important than international law, UN chief António Guterres told the BBC

The US acts with impunity and believes its power is more important than international law, the UN chief told the BBC.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, António Guterres said Washington’s “clear conviction” is that multilateral solutions are irrelevant.

What is important, he continued, is “the use of power and influence by the United States and sometimes in this regard through the rules of international law”.

His comments come weeks after the US struck Venezuela and seized its president – and in the context of Donald Trump’s repeated threats to annex Greenland.

Guterres said he believed the founding principles of the UN – including the equality of member states – were now at risk.

President Trump has previously been bold in his criticism of the United Nations.

He used his speech at the previous General Assembly in September to question its very purpose, claiming that he had “ended seven endless wars” on his own and the UN “didn’t even try to help any of them”.

“Later I found out that the UN was not there for us,” he said.

Presented with this damning assessment, Guterres admitted that his organization is struggling to make members obey the international laws outlined in the UN Charter.

The UN is “too involved” in solving the world’s major conflicts, he insisted. “But the UN has no leverage – the big powers have stronger leverage.

He questions whether the increased leverage is being used to create real and lasting solutions to conflicts, or just quick fixes. “There’s a big difference between the two things,” he said.

Guterres also said his organization needed reform to address the “dramatic problems and challenges” facing its 193 members.

“There are those who believe that the power of law should be replaced by the law of power,” said the UN chief.

“In fact, if one sees the current policy of the United States, there is a clear conviction that multilateral solutions are not appropriate and that what is important is the use of power and influence of the United States and sometimes in this area of ​​norms of international law”.

He suggested the UN Security Council – designed to maintain international peace and security – no longer represents the world and is “ineffective”.

Any of the council’s permanent members – France, China, Russia, the UK or the US – can now veto resolutions. Both Russia and the US have used this power to thwart global efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Guterres admitted that the vetoes were used to further the interests of individual members, and criticized the fact that “three European countries” are permanent members.

He called for changes in the composition of the council – to “restore legitimacy” and “give voice to the whole world” – and limit veto powers to avoid unacceptable “blockages”.

Guterres – a former Portuguese prime minister – took the UN leadership job in 2017, and will leave the role at the end of this year.

In his annual speech to the General Assembly, which is traditionally used to identify the organization’s priorities, he warned of a world in chaos, “filled with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability”, and identified “senseless violations of international law” as one of the greatest challenges facing the global order.

One of the ongoing conflicts that Guterres identified as key for the UN is Gaza.

For large parts of the war it was prevented from distributing aid to the strip, because Israel blocked international humanitarian organizations from bringing it into the territory.

At one point, Israel even supported an external contractor – the Gaza Humanitarian Organization – to do the work that the UN had been doing for decades. Hundreds of Palestinians have died trying to access food at GHF sites.

When asked if he saw the UN as having no power in Gaza where it should have made a difference, he said: “Of course, but let’s be clear.

“For a long time, Israel said that humanitarian aid was not distributed because the UN could not do it. Of course, whenever Israel did not allow us to move to Gaza, we could not move to Gaza. And then there was a ceasefire, and a huge flow of humanitarian aid.”

He emphasized: “We are ready, as long as we have the conditions.”

A few days ago, Guterres told the UN General Assembly that “solving the problem of 1945” will not solve the problems of 2026, referring to the structure of the organization.

The challenges keep coming, with the US-forced leadership change in Venezuela, Iranian regime forces killing thousands of protesters and Donald Trump’s stated intention to annex Greenland.

Questions about the death of multilateralism – and the failure of some world leaders to speak up and defend the rule of international law – are increasingly pressing.

But Antonio Guterres told me he remains positive.

“I think that people are sometimes reluctant to confront the powerful. But the truth is that if we don’t confront the powerful, we will never have a better world.”