UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday the UN's guiding principles are "under assault as never before," pointing to conflicts, hunger and climate chaos at a high-level plenary meeting commemorating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the UN in New York.

"To meet these challenges, we must not only defend the UN, we must strengthen it," Guterres said, highlighting reform initiatives including the Pact for the Future and the UN80 process.

"The only way forward is together. Let us rise to this moment with clarity, courage and conviction. And let us realize the promise of peace."

The theme of this year's meeting – "Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development, and human rights" – was emphasized in several speeches, as was the need to strengthen the UN Charter, which was born from the ruins of war.

Echoing Guterres, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Annalena Baerbock said the UN's 80th year comes at a turning point. "We must choose the right path; to show the world that we can be better together," she said, adding that "better together" is more than a motto, but a hard-won truth and a commitment for the next 80 years.

Guterres also called for intensified efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the SDG Moment event, hosted during the High-Level Week of the 80th session of the UNGA.

The UN chief outlined the path to reach the SDGs: reform the global financial architecture, climate action must take center stage, and prepare for technological transformation.

"In all we do, we must make peace a priority," Guterres said, stressing that in 2024 global military spending was 13 times official development assistance.

With five years to go until 2030, only 35 percent of the SDGs are on track, 47 percent are seeing insufficient progress and 18 percent have gone into reverse, Baerbock said at the event.

"The financial picture is equally stark. At a moment of rising need, net official development assistance fell by 7.1 percent last year," she said.

She added that "development will only be fair and sustainable if it makes space for voices too often ignored and if we combine our efforts and show solidarity with each other."

With 17 SDGs at its core, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015, which is committed to eradicating poverty, promoting equality, addressing climate change and more by 2030.

Representatives from UN member states, including some 150 heads of state and government, are in New York for the session. They will attend a series of high-level conferences and hold bilateral meetings.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the high-level meeting to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the UN at UN headquarters in New York, U.S., September 22, 2025. /VCG)