On Tuesday 20 September 2022, President Čaputová spoke before the world leaders at the opening of the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations.

According to the president, time has not been very kind to the ideas on which we built the United Nations and which sustain it today. Peace, which we should safeguard, is fraying. International cooperation, which we should foster, has not prevented climate catastrophe. And the spirit of shared global commons that the UN embodies, is under attack from extremists, whose voices are multiplied by new technologies. "Half measures are not enough to cope with these challenges. We have tried that before. It’s time for action and for clarity. We, the members of the UN, need to clearly side with the victim over the aggressor. We must choose an international rules-based order over the power of the gun." 

In her speech, the president emphasized the need for the urgent achievement of our climate goals. We must also find working rules for social media platforms to protect our societies and international order. "Sure, we can delay and compromise. But again, history teaches us that passivity and ignorance never solve crises, they only delay the moment of reckoning.”
The president’s speech is available in the section Speeches.