Source: UN News: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 00:01 AM
UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock has warned that the world has reached a critical juncture for the multilateral system, and that the rules-based order can only survive if countries tell the truth and do the right thing in difficult circumstances. Addressing the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, he also stressed the need to build a regional alliance to oppose growing lawlessness, deliberate disinformation and power-based politics. The UN General Assembly chief addressed the World Economic Forum in ‘Who Brokers Trust Now?’ Speaking at the session, he warned that multilateral institutions, long considered the arbiters of global trust, are under tremendous pressure as wars increase and respect for international law declines. Annalena Baerbock asked the question, “Who arbiters trust?” “In normal times, the answer would have been simple: multilateral institutions like the United Nations,” but “these are not normal times,” she said. Tweet URL
General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said that today the world is facing more wars than at any time in recent history. Since the beginning of 2026, the cracks have deepened. Under these circumstances, some Member States are hesitant to take principled action, even when it is necessary. “The voices that were once vocal in support of the three pillars of the UN Charter – peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights – are now gradually falling silent in the face of their decline.” “The United Nations is not only under pressure, it is under direct attack.”Truth and shared facts… Annalena Baerbock stressed that trust cannot exist without truth and shared facts, but this foundation is increasingly being undermined by the deliberate spread of false or misleading information. In the words of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, she said, “Without facts, there can be no truth. Truth cannot be trusted.” The General Assembly President cautioned that lies are usually not accidental, but are often “weaponized with false and misleading information.” In the face of blatant lies, diplomatic silence only deepens mistrust. “We do not compromise on truth and facts…we use them to communicate and build trust,” she said. Annalena Baerbock highlighted the risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), saying that AI has huge benefits, but is also being used to blur the line between truth and lies. Deepfakes On the subject of deepfakes, he said that its use is leading to “an organized attack on women.” He said that statistics show that most of such content is pornographic, and targets women. “Shared Life Insurance” The General Assembly President underlined that trust is impossible without shared rules. Respect for international law is not a matter of naive idealism, but a matter of conscious self-interest. Annalena Baerbock points out that “trust is based on rules.” She compared the global system to a competitive game or market, where predictability and fairness are essential. “Why would you invest your money in a business if the rules of competition are completely unpredictable?” According to the General Assembly President, the leaders of the United Nations when they were founded 80 years ago chose cooperation because they saw the devastating consequences of a lawless international order. He said the UN Charter remains “the world’s common life insurance”, just as the rules-based economic system is the cornerstone of global trade and investment. General Assembly calls for broad alliance The President concluded his address with a call to build a broad coalition, including governments, businesses and sectors, to stand up for the international order and defend shared principles. Even if this may prove politically or economically costly, she said, “Trust is brokered by those who hold to shared rules and principles, even when it is difficult. Who take action when action is needed… and who speak the truth when silence or distortion would have been easier.” Annalena Baerbock stressed that the challenge now is whether today’s leaders will be able to act with the same courage and conviction as those in the post-war international order. The founders did. “The founders of the United Nations understood that in a world where force dictates justice, there can be only one outcome: anarchy and war.”