The anniversary should have been a moment of celebration, she noted, but this is not an ordinary year, with conflict and crises in Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti and beyond.

“Faced with these realities, now is not the time to celebrate but to ask ourselves: Where is the United Nations? Clearly, we have to do better,” she said.

Uphold the UN Charter

Ms. Baerbock was adamant that the international community “should not let cynics weaponize these failures” or argue that the institution is a waste of money, outdated and irrelevant.

She stressed that when the principles of the UN Charter are ignored, it is not the document or the UN as an institution that has failed.

“The Charter, our Charter, is only as strong as Member States’ willingness to uphold it. And their willingness to hold to account those who violate it,” she said.

Never give up

While acknowledging that the world is in pain, and that failures have occured, Ms. Baerbock asked leaders to imagine how much worse it would be without the UN.

She highlighted the lifesaving work of agencies such as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Sometimes we could have done more. But we cannot let this dishearten us. If we stopped doing the right thing, evil would prevail,” she said.

“This 80th session is not about big celebrations. It’s about finding the resolve to not give up. The resolve to be Better Together. Just as our predecessors did eight decades ago.”

From war to peace

The UN was born in the aftermath of two world wars, the horrors of the Holocaust, and when nearly a third of humanity, 750 million people, were still under colonial rule. The signing of the Charter “gave hope to millions,” she said.

“Across the decades, the United Nations has been a compass pointing toward peace, humanity, and justice,” she said.

“We have not always succeeded. But the story of this institution is not a story of easy victories. It’s the story of falling and rising. Of pulling ourselves and each other back up and trying harder.”

Member States have gathered “to prove that this institution matters,” she said.

“And through this institution, every nation represented here – no matter how big or small – can summon again the strength and unity first shown in San Francisco, 80 years ago.”

At a crosswords

Ms. Baerbock observed that the international community is once again standing at a crossroads.

“It is up to us, to every single Member State to live up to the same leadership as our predecessors,” she said.

“To act when action is needed. To uphold the principles of our Charter. To be better together.”

Moreover, they must “show the people around the world that the United Nations is there. Today. Tomorrow. And for the next eight decades,” because it is “the life insurance for every country.”