Australia’s prime minister says UN's real worth 'measured in deeds'

ISTANBUL

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that “the true value of the United Nations is not counted in decades, it is measured in deeds.”

In his speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Albanese reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages.

Citing the UN Charter, he stressed the organization’s mission to protect future generations from war and to advance fundamental human rights and social progress.

Every country represented in this room has pledged to uphold these principles, Albanese said, adding that peacekeepers and aid workers worldwide have put their lives at risk and have died in the pursuit of these ideals.

"So we must ask ourselves: When can those words hold meaning, if not now? Where can those words apply, if they do not apply to the Middle East?

"And what can we, the members of the United Nations, say we stand for if we cannot say we stand for this?

"There is a moment of opportunity here — let us seize it," he said.

Albanese also addressed Australia’s leadership role in the Pacific along with his government’s dedication to climate action.

Australia is tackling climate change and simultaneously capitalizing on the economic opportunities presented by renewable energy, he highlighted.

Calling for trusting "in each other's humanity," he added: "More than ever, we must choose to succeed together rather than risk failing alone.”