Milei Criticizes UN as Ineffective in General Assembly Address

Argentine President Javier Milei used his address to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, September 23, to issue a sharp condemnation of the global body, calling it ineffective and saying it has failed to meet the responsibilities set out when it was founded. Milei said the UN had strayed from its original mission of upholding international law, national sovereignty, human rights, and peaceful cooperation. He described the ideals behind the UN's creation as noble, but argued that the institution has not upheld them. "It has become a useless organisation whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats," Milei said. The Argentine president also accused the UN of failing to guarantee collective security and protect human rights, saying it had instead allowed chaos, violence, and international terrorism to grow. Milei further criticized the organization's treatment of Israel and its human rights approach. "The alleged defenders of human rights have sheltered bloodthirsty dictatorships and regimes that stone women in the streets," he said. "They have systematically voted against Israel while remaining silent in the face of Islamic terrorism and the genocide of Christians in Africa." Those assertions reflected Milei's own characterization of the UN's record and were not presented in his speech as findings by an independent international body. The Argentine leader reaffirmed his country's foreign-policy alignment with the United States, Israel, and the broader Western bloc, saying his government shares a deep affinity of values with them. He also condemned Iran's attacks against Israel and highlighted Argentina's decision to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Argentina formally added the Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to its terrorism registry in January 2026, before expanding the designation to the IRGC as a whole in August. Milei also used the address to criticize the UN on other issues, including the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas. He described the islands as a national cause for Argentina and accused the UN of failing to enforce its own resolutions concerning the sovereignty dispute. Milei called on the United Kingdom to resume negotiations aimed at reaching a peaceful resolution. The UK maintains that the Falkland Islanders have the right to determine their own political status. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of participating islanders voted to remain a British Overseas Territory. Argentina disputes the applicability of self-determination to the sovereignty question. Milei's speech continued the Argentine president's broader criticism of international institutions and multilateral governance, while underscoring his government's close political alignment with the United States and Israel.