ASIATODAY.ID, DAVOS – The world has entered a “make-or-break” phase for multilateralism, the President of the United Nations General Assembly warned on Wednesday, as global conflicts surge, international law weakens, and truth itself comes under growing assault.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum session Who Brokers Trust Now? in Davos, on January 21, 2026, Annalena Baerbock said the rules-based international order can survive only if countries are willing to speak the truth and act on principle—even when doing so is politically or economically costly.
“Who brokers trust today?” Baerbock asked. “In ordinary times, the answer would be simple: multilateral institutions like the United Nations. But these are not ordinary times.”
Multilateralism under pressure
Baerbock said the world is experiencing more conflicts than at any point in recent history. Since the start of 2026, global divisions have deepened further, leaving many governments reluctant to act decisively when principles are at stake.
“Voices that were once outspoken in their support for all three pillars of the United Nations Charter—peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights—are growing increasingly silent as those pillars are eroded,” she said.
“The United Nations is not only under pressure,” Baerbock warned. “It is under outright attack.”
Truth is not negotiable
According to Baerbock, trust cannot exist without shared facts and truth—foundations now deliberately undermined by disinformation.
“Without facts, you cannot have truth. Without truth, you cannot have trust,” she said, quoting Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.
She cautioned that falsehoods are rarely accidental and are often weaponized for political gain, while diplomatic silence in the face of obvious lies only deepens global mistrust.
“We do not negotiate truths and facts,” Baerbock said. “We use them to negotiate—to broker trust.”
She also highlighted the growing risks posed by artificial intelligence. While AI offers enormous benefits, it is increasingly being used to blur the line between reality and fabrication.
Deepfakes, she noted, disproportionately target women, with the vast majority of such content being pornographic.
The UN Charter as the world’s “life insurance”
Baerbock rejected the notion that defending international law is naïve idealism, arguing instead that it is a matter of enlightened self-interest.
“Trust is built on rules,” she said, likening the global system to markets and competitive sports that rely on predictability and fairness.
“Why would you invest your money if the rules of competition are totally unpredictable?”
Reflecting on the founding of the United Nations 80 years ago, Baerbock said world leaders chose cooperation after witnessing the devastating consequences of a lawless international order.
“The UN Charter remains the world’s common life insurance,” she said, just as a rules-based economic order underpins global business and investment.
Call for a broad global alliance
In her closing remarks, the President of the General Assembly called for a broad, cross-regional alliance—spanning governments, businesses, and civil society—to defend the international order and uphold shared principles, even when doing so comes at a political or economic cost.
“Trust is brokered by those who stand up for common rules and principles, even when it is hard,” Baerbock said.
“By those who act when action is required, and by those who speak the truth when silence or distortion would be easier.”
The defining challenge, she concluded, is whether today’s leaders can demonstrate the same courage and conviction as those who built the post-war international system.
“They understood,” Baerbock said, “that in a world where might makes right, there can be only one outcome: chaos and war.” (AT Network)
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