Argentine President Javier Milei addressed the United Nations General Assembly's 81st session in New York on September 23, 2026, delivering a sharply critical speech aimed at the organization itself.
Milei told the assembly the UN had broken its "sacred covenant" and had "become a useless organization whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats," according to the UN's own news service. He argued the body had failed at its core mission, saying those "who were supposed to guarantee collective security and human rights failed in their task," allowing "chaos, violence and terrorism to flourish, sheltering dictatorships." He added: "There's no shortage of words or resolutions. What is lacking is consequences."
The Falklands/Malvinas claim
Milei devoted a substantial part of his address to Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands, which it calls the Malvinas, describing it as a "national cause." He said the UN had ignored ongoing "unilateral changes" in the territory despite a decades-old UN resolution calling for negotiations, and criticized UK-backed oil extraction licenses in waters Argentina claims as "illegal and illegitimate." Milei argued that self-determination "does not apply in this case, since the population was implanted by the occupying power" -- a characterization the UK and Falkland Islanders themselves dispute -- and called on Britain to resume negotiations toward a peaceful resolution.
Other topics in the speech
Milei also criticized COVID-19-era lockdown policies, which he has previously likened to "genocide," cited Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organization, pledged closer alignment with the United States and Israel, and proposed limited regulation of artificial intelligence. This marked Milei's third address to the UN General Assembly since taking office in December 2023, and the third in which he has leveled sharp criticism at the organization.
