Guterres urges youth unity at Cairo University, calls for cooperation on peace, climate and AI

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged young people to remain united in confronting shared challenges during an address at Cairo University in Egypt on 26 October 2026, according to remarks published by UN Press. He called for cooperation as societies face changes whose consequences cannot yet be fully imagined.

Returning to a university where he said he had addressed students in 2017, Guterres noted that he was approaching the end of his mandate almost a decade later. He identified wars, the pandemic, challenges to respect for international law, climate change and artificial intelligence as major disruptions during his tenure.

Guterres said societies owe young people education, decent work and opportunities, alongside freedom of thought and expression and a role in decisions affecting their lives. He also called for women’s full and equal participation, space for civil society and rule-of-law protections for everyone.

On technology, he said young Egyptians need the education, skills and opportunities to help build future technologies, with Cairo University playing a vital role. He called for a multilateral framework to assess artificial intelligence risks, establish safeguards and enable developing countries to help shape the technology.

Turning to Gaza, Guterres condemned Hamas’ attacks of 7 October and said neither those attacks nor what followed for Palestinians could be justified. He described the scale of killing and destruction in Gaza as unlike anything he had witnessed as Secretary-General.

He said parties to the International Court of Justice case concerning the Genocide Convention and Gaza must comply with the Court’s orders. He also urged full implementation of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which he described as endorsed by the UN Security Council, alongside humanitarian assistance, civilian protection and accountability.

Guterres said there was no viable alternative to a two-State solution and praised Egypt’s mediation, efforts to secure humanitarian access and support for Palestinian self-determination.

On Sudan, he called for fighting to end, civilians to be protected and aid to reach people without obstruction. He urged preservation of the country’s unity and sovereignty and an inclusive Sudanese political process, while thanking Egyptians for supporting Sudanese people seeking safety.

For Libya, Guterres advocated a Libyan-led solution to restore unified institutions and allow people to determine their future peacefully through elections. More broadly, he proposed a Middle East security architecture grounded in regional dialogue, international law, sovereign equality and mutual security, with Egypt playing a critical role.

On climate action, Guterres called on developed countries to support a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, provide resources for the loss and damage fund, and finance adaptation and resilience. He said the annual UN Climate Conference in Türkiye was weeks away.