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The president of the U.N. General Assembly warned Wednesday that the multilateral system faces an existential moment as she fielded sharp questioning from journalists on the next secretary-general race, U.N. funding shortfalls and Israel’s restrictions on UNRWA. The sustained exchange revealed a press corps increasingly focused not on ceremony, but on whether the institution’s processes still carry real credibility.

The UN General Assembly adopted 40 resolutions across Palestine, decolonization, and global communications, delivering overwhelming support for UNRWA amid the Gaza crisis and reaffirming Palestinian refugee rights and the illegality of Israeli settlements. Member States also established a new International Day Against Colonialism and advanced actions on the world’s remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories.

As the United Nations turns 80, Secretary-General António Guterres is pushing the most ambitious reform plan in decades — cutting budgets, merging agencies, and streamlining mandates to rescue an overstretched system. His UN80 Initiative aims to make the UN “fit for today’s challenges,” but Member States — led by the United States — will ultimately decide whether this reset saves multilateralism or dismantles it.