(MENAFN) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday urged the United Nations to turn its founding ideals into action, pressing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the safe return of hostages.

Speaking before world leaders at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Albanese declared: “The true value of the United Nations is not counted in decades, it is measured in deeds.”

Referencing the UN Charter, he reaffirmed the international body’s responsibility to protect future generations from conflict and to promote universal human rights and progress.

“Every country represented in this room has pledged to uphold these principles,” Albanese said, noting that peacekeepers and humanitarian workers around the globe “have put their lives at risk and have died in the pursuit of these ideals.”

Albanese challenged the assembly with a pointed series of questions: “So we must ask ourselves: When can those words hold meaning, if not now? Where can those words apply, if they do not apply to the Middle East?

“And what can we, the members of the United Nations, say we stand for if we cannot say we stand for this?

“There is a moment of opportunity here — let us seize it,” he said.

The prime minister also used the platform to reaffirm Australia’s strategic focus on the Pacific and its commitment to global climate action. He emphasized that his government is confronting the climate crisis while also embracing the economic benefits of renewable energy.

Calling for renewed global solidarity, he urged leaders to act with compassion and shared purpose: “More than ever, we must choose to succeed together rather than risk failing alone.”

Albanese’s remarks come at a pivotal time for multilateral diplomacy, as conflicts and climate threats increasingly test the relevance and resolve of global institutions.

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