BISHKEK, September 2 — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres used a stage in Central Asia on Tuesday to press leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to help reshape global governance for a changing world. Speaking at the SCO summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Guterres argued that a more multipolar international order can strengthen multilateralism, advance fairness, and better serve developing countries. “Our world is increasingly multipolar.
That is a good thing and must be strengthened,” he said, describing multipolarity as “a condition for justice in global governance and international relations” and “the best support for effective multilateralism.” At its heart, his message to the ten-member Eurasian bloc — which includes China, India, Pakistan, Russia and several Central Asian states — was an appeal for reform.
Guterres noted that many international institutions still reflect the geopolitical realities of 1945 and called for the UN and the Bretton Woods system to be reshaped to reflect today’s realities, with greater representation and influence for developing countries. He praised the SCO itself as “an important pillar of multilateralism.” The Secretary-General laid out four areas for strengthened cooperation, and the first was security — where his tone turned urgent.
He voiced concern over instability in the Middle East, warning that ceasefires and agreements are repeatedly being violated, and appealed for maximum restraint and respect for international law. He stressed the need for a peaceful settlement that would restore regional stability while safeguarding navigational rights and freedoms, including around the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
On Gaza, Guterres was direct: the ceasefire “must be respected.” He called for full implementation of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, the removal of obstacles to humanitarian assistance, and an end to settler attacks and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. “There will only be peace with a two-State solution,” he said, envisioning Israel and Palestine as two independent, sovereign, democratic states with Jerusalem/Al Quds as the capital of both.
On Ukraine, after more than four years of war, he said “it is high time for a full and immediate ceasefire” to open the way to negotiations for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with international law. The remaining asks were economic and environmental.
Guterres called for reforms to the international financial system, arguing that developing countries are burdened by unsustainable debt, and urged multilateral development banks to become “bigger, better and bolder.” He also warned that the world is on track to exceed the 1.5°C temperature limit, and pressed for cooperation on digital governance. What unfolds next is whether the SCO — a grouping that spans much of the world’s population and geography — will take up that reform mantle, or leave the Secretary-General’s words as another speech in the summit archive.
