Amid Unforeseeable Changes, Secretary-General Urges Youth to ‘Stay Together’ at Cairo University

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at Cairo University today:

As-salam-alaikum.  Allow me first of all to apologize for being late.  The fact is that I was in the New Capital, and with a programme that was completely out of my control . But, my sincere apologies for having to wait for me.

It is wonderful to be back at Cairo University in this week that we mark the founding of the United Nations.  For more than a century, this institution has been a centre of thought, science and public life in Egypt and across the Arab world.

And for thousands of years, Egypt has been a cradle of civilization — shaping human history through its extraordinary achievements and enduring legacies.

Long before many of the civilizations that followed, ancient Egypt was advancing knowledge and expanding the horizons of imagination.

Perhaps one phrase familiar to all Egyptians puts it best:  Masr Om El Donya.  Egypt is the mother of the world.  The influence of this ancient civilization travelled far beyond the Nile, just as Egypt itself became a meeting point for peoples and ideas.

And, in the centuries that followed, Egypt became one of the great centres of Arab and Islamic civilization, contributing profoundly to its culture, scholarship and intellectual life.

Across the ages, Egypt has remained opened to the currents of the wider world.  Of Africa and the Arab region.  Of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.  Of peoples, cultures and religions.

I come from Portugal, on the other side of the Mediterranean.  But I have always felt a particular connection to this history.  My own country bears the imprint of centuries of exchange with Arab civilization.  In language, architecture, science and so much more.  It is a vivid reminder that civilizations do not flourish by turning inward.  They flourish when they meet and learn from one another.

Egypt has carried that spirit into its diplomacy.  As a founding member of the United Nations. As a major contributor to United Nations peacekeeping.  As a country deeply engaged in peacebuilding, mediation and multilateral cooperation.  And as a bridge between regions, countries and peoples.

I have seen that role many times in my years as Secretary-General.  In moments of enormous division, Egypt has been a place where parties can still talk. Where doors can stay open.  Where differences that seem impossible to bridge can be brought to the same table.

That matters enormously today.  Because we live at a time when too many bridges are being burned.

There is another reason why being here has a special meaning for me.  The last time I stood before the students of this university, I had been Secretary-General for just a few weeks.

Now, almost a decade later, I am approaching the end of my mandate.  We could not have anticipated all the challenges that these ten years would bring. Wars and conflicts that have devastated societies and displaced millions.  A pandemic that stopped the world in its tracks.  The wholesale assault on respect for international law. A climate crisis accelerating before our eyes.  And artificial intelligence moving from something discussed largely by specialists to a force that is on the verge of transforming almost every aspect of our lives.

As I reflect on this decade of disruption, a central lesson stands out:  Even as our world is seemingly pulling apart, our fates are more connected than ever. COVID taught us that brutally. Climate change reminds us every day. War teaches the same lesson.  A conflict may begin somewhere else.  But soon food and energy cost more.  Transportation is blocked.  Trade slows.  Investment is postponed.  And families have less money in their pockets.

This part of the world sadly knows all too well how conflicts travel across borders, across generations, and far beyond the moment in which it begins.

And that brings me to peace.  I took office believing deeply in prevention.  I leave office convinced of it even more.  Because once war begins, it develops its own terrible momentum.

Compromise becomes harder.  Positions become more entrenched.  Outside powers may become increasingly involved.  And civilians always pay the price.  We have seen this on unbearable display in Gaza.  I have repeatedly condemned the abhorrent terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas.  Nothing can justify them.  But nothing can justify what followed for Palestinians in Gaza.

The scale and intensity of the killing — and the sheer level of destruction in such a densely populated and confined area — are unlike anything I witnessed in my years as Secretary-General.  Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in staggering numbers.

Denied medical care, shelter and the basics of life. With the foundations of Palestinian life systematically dismantled.  The “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel” examined that reality.  Its findings are sobering.

And the International Court of Justice has issued an order indicating legally binding provisional measures in the case entitled “Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip”.

The parties to the case must comply with the Court’s orders. Our responsibility is to ensure that the horrors end and are never repeated.

The Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict — endorsed by the Security Council — must be implemented in its entirety.  Humanitarian assistance must flow to fully respond to the needs.  Civilians must be protected.  Accountability must prevail.

Throughout the crisis, Egypt has played an essential role in mediation, humanitarian access and efforts to stop the fighting.  And you have kept the focus on the fundamentals.

For decades, the international community has spoken about resolving the Palestinian question.  We have issued statements.  Passed resolutions.  Managed crises.  And then moved on until the next crisis.

That cannot continue.  There will be no durable peace in the Middle East while Palestinians are denied their legitimate rights.  The two-State solution is not simply one possibility among many.  There is no viable alternative.  And it is in danger of being bulldozed away.  We cannot let that happen.

I once again salute the Egyptian Government and the Egyptian people for your global leadership and advocacy for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.  We must never give up on this struggle.

Unfortunately, we see conflict and suffering in every direction. In Sudan, a war for raw power, fuelled by outside actors, has become a war on civilians.  The fighting must stop.  Civilians must be protected.

Humanitarian aid must flow without obstruction.  The country’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be preserved.  And Sudan's future must be shaped by the Sudanese people through an inclusive political process.

Egypt has felt this tragedy in a very human way.  I thank the Egyptian people for your solidarity to Sudanese seeking safety.  Countries providing refuge must not be left to bear this burden alone.

Responsibility must be shared.  The same need for political solutions applies in Libya.  As Libyans have lived for too long with political division, insecurity and uncertainty.  The solution must be Libyan-led, restore unified institutions and provide Libyans the opportunity to determine their future peacefully through elections.

No country in this region can achieve lasting security at the expense of another.  The Middle East needs a new security architecture.  One in which the countries of the region talk to each other.  One that respects international law and sovereign equality.  One that creates credible arrangements for mutual security.

And one in which the future is shaped by the peoples and countries of the region, rather than by war after war after war — many times fuelled by external actors.  I see Egypt playing a critical role in this new architecture.

Another lesson of these ten years concerns development. And this is another way in which the consequences of war spread.  The people of Egypt have been living alongside a series of economic shocks from conflicts they did not create.

The war in Gaza and disruptions around the Red Sea have put pressure on trade and the wider regional economy.  And the Strait of Hormuz crisis has shown again how a military confrontation in one narrow stretch of water can have profound consequences in the lives of families thousands of kilometres away. International navigational rights and freedoms must be upheld in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Bab Al Mandeb as in the Black Sea.

The conflict that we have seen in the Strait of Hormuz has sent energy costs sharply higher, increased transport costs and renewed inflationary pressure everywhere.

And all of this comes on top of the pressures already facing developing economies.  High debt. Limited fiscal space. Insufficient concessional finance.

A global financial system that remains tilted towards those who need it least.  That is why I have been making the case for reform of the Bretton Woods system and the international financial architecture to ensure developing countries have the participation and influence they deserve and that reflects today’s economy.

The same spirit of fairness must guide how we manage the resources on which we all depend.  Shared resources must become reasons to cooperate.

Climate change, population growth and growing demand for food, water and energy all make cooperation more critical.

That takes us to the climate crisis.  When I became Secretary-General, climate change was already an enormous threat.  Today, its impacts are all around us.  I have seen them myself.

I have walked through communities devastated by hurricanes and floods.  Seen landscapes transformed by drought.  Met families who watched their homes and livelihoods disappear before their eyes.

And everywhere, I have seen the same profound injustice. Those who did the least to cause the climate crisis are paying the highest price.  We are just weeks away from the annual UN Climate Conference in Türkiye.

Four years ago, Egypt hosted it in Sharm el-Sheikh — and it resulted in the landmark agreement to establish a loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries.  This was an important victory for climate justice.  But justice demands much more.

G20 countries account for around 80 per cent of global emissions.  They must lead.  We need drastic reductions in emissions this decade.  The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities applies, but all countries must do more.

Developed countries must respect their commitments and provide support on all fronts.  Support for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Support to ensure the loss and damage fund has what it needs to work with the resources to deliver.

And support for adaptation and resilience so countries can protect their populations from climate impacts that are already here and growing more frequent, severe and devastating.

There is one final transformation that was barely on the world’s radar when I stood here ten years ago.  Artificial intelligence.  Its possibilities are extraordinary.  AI can help a doctor detect disease.  Help farmers better understand crops and weather.  Help scientists accelerate discovery.  And help students learn, create and innovate in ways we are only beginning to imagine.

But the risks are just as real.  AI can further concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few. Deepen inequalities within and between countries.  Transform labour markets faster than societies can adapt.

And turbocharge disinformation and division.  So the fundamental question is simple:  Will artificial intelligence serve all humanity, or only a privileged few?

In some frontier areas, the risks are potentially existential — as even some leaders of the AI industry have warned.  No country or company can manage such risks alone.

We need a multilateral framework that brings the international community together to assess and manage them and to establish effective guardrails and cooperative mechanisms.

Developing countries must also have the capacity to not simply use these technologies, but to shape them.

And that begins with young people.  Young Egyptians have long been a force for ideas, creativity and change.

From Alexandria to Cairo to Aswan and far beyond, they must have access to the education, skills and opportunities to build the technologies of the future.

And institutions such as Cairo University have a vital role to play.

When I came here in 2017, I spoke about young people.  I was hopeful then — and I am hopeful today. But I don’t view hope as a prediction about what will happen.

I see hope as something people do.  Over the last ten years, I have watched humanitarian workers go into places that others were desperately trying to escape.  I have witnessed peacekeepers carry out their duties knowing the dangers they faced.  I have seen communities take in refugees when they themselves had very little. I have met young people refusing to allow the divisions of the past define their future.

None of them acted because they were certain that things would turn out well.  They acted because they believed it was the right thing to do.  That, for me, is hope.

And I see enormous hope in your generation.  Your knowledge.  Your energy.  Your capacity to create.  Societies have responsibilities towards young people, too.

Education.  Decent work. Opportunity.  The freedom to think.  The freedom to speak.  The space to participate in the decisions that shape your lives.  The assurance that women can participate fully and equally. That civil society has the space to contribute.  That the rule of law protects everyone.

Because after ten years as Secretary-General, I am convinced that stability is strongest when people feel that institutions belong to them. Peace is strongest when it is accompanied by justice.  And societies are strongest when human dignity and human rights are respected.

As we mark United Nations Day together, let me return where I began. Our world is becoming more divided. But the challenges we face bind us together as never before.  And perhaps there is no better place to say this than here.

In Egypt.  In Masr Om El Donya.  A cradle of civilization that has connected people, continents and civilizations across millennia.

And here at Cairo University among young people whose lives will be shaped by changes we can scarcely imagine today.

I urge you to never forget:  We need each other.  Our challenges are shared.  Our future is shared.  And we will only shape it if we stay together.