Antonio Guterres appears to have targeted the US, which recently reduced its contribution and told the UN to ‘adapt or die’.
Published on January 15, 2026
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has lashed out at world leaders who he accused of turning their backs on international cooperation for “self-defeating geopolitical divisions” and “blatant violations of international law”.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General condemned the “wholesale cuts in development and humanitarian aid” and warned that they were “shaking the foundations of global cooperation and testing the resilience of multilateralism”.
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“When we need international cooperation the most, we seem least inclined to use it and invest in it. Some try to put international cooperation on deathwatch,” he said.
Last Annual Address
The secretary-general, who will step down at the end of 2026, stopped short of naming the offending countries, but cited deep budget cuts to UN agencies made by the United States under US President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy.
While other countries have also cut funding, the US announced at the end of last year that it would simply cut the allocation $2 billion It represents a small fraction of the leading funder’s past contribution of up to $17bn for United Nations humanitarian assistance.
The Trump administration has effectively destroyed Its primary platform for foreign aid is the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which calls on UN agencies to “adapt, shrink or die”.
Setting out his final annual list of priorities as secretary-general for next year, Guterres said the UN was “fully committed to building peace in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond, and relentless in delivering life-saving aid to those desperate for help”.
The UN chief allowed the “unimpeded flow” of humanitarian aid into Gaza, said no effort should be spared to end the Russia-Ukraine war and called for the resumption of talks to bring about a lasting ceasefire in Sudan.
Those three deadly, protracted conflicts have come to define Guterres’ time as UN chief, with critics arguing that the organization has been ineffective in conflict prevention.
The Security Council, the organization’s top decision-making body, has been dogged by tensions between the US, Russia and China, all three of which are permanent, veto-wielding members.