What world leaders said, and what they focused on at UNGA81 Speeches
What did world leaders actually talk about at the UN this week? With the help of AI, I analyzed 64 UNGA81 speeches from the General Debate’s first two days to find out. This Friday, that replaces our usual Humanitarian Scan.
The words in UNGA81 Speeches
The word clouds show the vocabulary of the debate. Overall it was dominated by security language. The regional clouds tell the more useful story: each region came to New York with a different agenda.
What world leaders talked about at UNGA81
The most used words in 64 General Debate speeches on 22 and 23 September 2026, overall and by region. Hover over a word, or tap it on a phone, to see how often it was used.
Colours show the focus area each word belongs to:
UN reform and cooperation
Development and economy
War and conflict
Peace and security
International law and justice
Climate, energy and oceans
Technology and AI
Human rights, freedom and democracy
Women, children and youth
Food, health and education
Place names
Tone words (no focus area)
Most used: peace (458), security (330), development (262), war (277), Africa (244), conflict (203), cooperation (211), trust (203), future (195), institutions (182). Ranked by weighted frequency; numbers in brackets are total mentions.
Speeches: all 64 speeches.
Most used: peace (138), war (142), security (140), Russia (127), AI (100), Ukraine (87), principles (86), responsibility (81), rules (77), conflict (73). Ranked by weighted frequency; numbers in brackets are total mentions.
Speeches: Andorra, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
Most used: Africa (191), peace (141), development (85), conflict (69), security (77), trust (69), institutions (70), cooperation (56), reform (48), transformation (58). Ranked by weighted frequency; numbers in brackets are total mentions.
Speeches: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Uganda.
Most used: development (59), peace (58), security (46), energy (50), challenges (40), institutions (36), investment (38), trust (31), future (32), opportunity (28). Ranked by weighted frequency; numbers in brackets are total mentions.
Speeches: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Venezuela.
Most used: Israel (42), peace (41), security (33), Palestine (35), region (32), war (26), God (16), Gaza (21), land (15), power (16). Ranked by weighted frequency; numbers in brackets are total mentions.
Speeches: Iran, Jordan, Qatar, Syria, Türkiye. Only five speeches, so single speakers shape this cloud heavily.
Most used: peace (80), development (61), cooperation (51), war (47), future (31), challenges (36), dialogue (26), security (34), initiative (30), Security Council (32). Ranked by weighted frequency; numbers in brackets are total mentions.
How this was made: full speech texts from the UN General Debate portal auto-transcripts (UK: official gov.uk transcript). Procedural lines, common English words, courtesy phrases and generic terms (such as “world”, “country”, “people”) were removed, as was each speaker’s own country name. Key phrases such as “international law”, “Security Council” and “food security” are counted as one term, and “in order to” is not counted as “order”. Two clear transcription errors in the Jordan transcript (“Raza” for Gaza, “Rawa” for UNRWA) were corrected. Word size shows mentions per 1,000 words, with each speech weighted equally so long speeches do not dominate. Auto-transcripts can contain errors. Analysis: burakc.com.
Peace and security were near the top in every region. “Peace” was the most used word overall (458 mentions, in 62 of 64 speeches), followed by “security“, “war” and “development“. “Trust“, the debate’s theme word, was eighth (203 mentions in 48 speeches).
Europe spoke about Russia, war and technology. “Russia” appears 127 times in 18 of the 22 European speeches. “AI” is the fifth most used word in the region, raised in 21 of the 22.
Africa spoke about itself and about fairness in the system. “Africa” is the top word (191 mentions in 15 of 16 speeches), followed by peace, development, conflict and trust. “Reform” and “SecurityCouncil” rank high, in line with the push for a permanent African seat.
The Americas spoke about delivery and the economy.Development, energy, investment, citizens and results rank near the top. “Energy” is the fourth most used word in the region.
The Middle East spoke about one conflict. “Israel” is the top word, with Palestine, Gaza and “land” close behind. This group has only five speeches, so single speakers shape it heavily.
Asia-Pacific spoke about cooperation and dialogue.Peace, development, cooperation and dialogue lead. “Pacific” stands out, mostly from the small island states.
Three contrasts between regions stand out for development readers:
Debt is a Southern topic.Debt was raised in 11 of 16 African speeches (26 mentions) and in only 2 of 22 European speeches (2 mentions).
Most countries (46) mention “climate”, few dwell on it, and only the South talks about money. Core climate terms appear 2.6 times per 1,000 words in African speeches and 2.4 in Asia-Pacific, against 0.9 in Europe. Most European leaders mentioned climate (15 of 22), but briefly, and none mentioned climate finance or loss and damage. The leaders who spoke most about climate were those most exposed: Seychelles, Palau, Namibia, Morocco and Dominica. Only Türkiye in total 64 countries mentioned COP31, which it hosts in Antalya this November.
AI is a Northern topic. It was raised in 21 of 22 European speeches, but in only 9 of 16 African and 8 of 13 Americas speeches. Not everyone’s priority at the moment, it seems.
The focus areas
Single words can mislead. “Peace” is one big word, but leaders talked about fixing the UN through many mid-sized words: cooperation, trust, institutions, Security Council, reform. The focus view adds these up.
What world leaders focused on at UNGA81
Words from 64 General Debate speeches on 22 and 23 September 2026, grouped into focus areas. Size and percentages show each area’s share of all focus words. Five areas sit close together at 13 to 16% each, followed by a sharp drop to climate, energy and oceans at 7%. Peace, war, law and rights together make up 44%.
Crime and trafficking1.7% of all focus words137 mentions, raised in 34 of 64 speechesCrime and trafficking2%Food, health and education3.9% of all focus words350 mentions, raised in 59 of 64 speechesFood, health and education4%Human rights, freedom and democracy4.5% of all focus words397 mentions, raised in 61 of 64 speechesHuman rights, freedom and democracy5%Climate, energy and oceans7.0% of all focus words626 mentions, raised in 61 of 64 speechesClimate, energy and oceans7%Peace and security13.4% of all focus words1,200 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speechesPeace and security13%UN reform and cooperation16.4% of all focus words1,455 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speechesUN reform and cooperation16%Development and economy15.6% of all focus words1,397 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speechesDevelopment and economy16%War and conflict13.5% of all focus words1,218 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speechesWar and conflict13%International law and justice12.7% of all focus words1,120 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speechesInternational law and justice13%Technology and AI4.6% of all focus words409 mentions, raised in 55 of 64 speechesTechnology and AI5%Women, children and youth4.2% of all focus words402 mentions, raised in 61 of 64 speechesWomen, children and youth4%Humanitarian crises and displacement2.3% of all focus words219 mentions, raised in 52 of 64 speechesHumanitarian crises and displacement2%
Focus areas and the words behind them
Read the top five as a near tie. They are within 3.7 points of each other, and their order depends on how words are grouped. For example, “trust” is counted under UN reform and cooperation; leaving it out would put development and economy first. Hover over or tap any word to see its count.
UN reform and cooperation
16.4%
1,455 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speeches
cooperation211 mentions in 55 of 64 speechescooperation 211
trust203 mentions in 48 of 64 speechestrust 203
institutions182 mentions in 54 of 64 speechesinstitutions 182
Security Council140 mentions in 50 of 64 speechesSecurity Council 140
system140 mentions in 51 of 64 speechessystem 140
reform131 mentions in 48 of 64 speechesreform 131
multilateralism99 mentions in 37 of 64 speechesmultilateralism 99
partnership82 mentions in 32 of 64 speechespartnership 82
partners76 mentions in 34 of 64 speechespartners 76
collective55 mentions in 33 of 64 speechescollective 55
solidarity54 mentions in 26 of 64 speechessolidarity 54
multilateral49 mentions in 28 of 64 speechesmultilateral 49
veto17 mentions in 14 of 64 speechesveto 17
Pact for the Future16 mentions in 12 of 64 speechesPact for the Future 16
Development and economy
15.6%
1,397 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speeches
development262 mentions in 55 of 64 speechesdevelopment 262
economic128 mentions in 46 of 64 speecheseconomic 128
resources112 mentions in 45 of 64 speechesresources 112
investment94 mentions in 33 of 64 speechesinvestment 94
economy93 mentions in 43 of 64 speecheseconomy 93
infrastructure81 mentions in 42 of 64 speechesinfrastructure 81
developing71 mentions in 31 of 64 speechesdeveloping 71
trade70 mentions in 38 of 64 speechestrade 70
financial59 mentions in 27 of 64 speechesfinancial 59
supply57 mentions in 25 of 64 speechessupply 57
prosperity56 mentions in 29 of 64 speechesprosperity 56
sustainable development47 mentions in 27 of 64 speechessustainable development 47
financing42 mentions in 17 of 64 speechesfinancing 42
growth41 mentions in 19 of 64 speechesgrowth 41
debt36 mentions in 18 of 64 speechesdebt 36
inequalities36 mentions in 25 of 64 speechesinequalities 36
finance34 mentions in 14 of 64 speechesfinance 34
SDGs31 mentions in 17 of 64 speechesSDGs 31
poverty31 mentions in 22 of 64 speechespoverty 31
Global South13 mentions in 11 of 64 speechesGlobal South 13
economic security3 mentions in 2 of 64 speecheseconomic security 3
War and conflict
13.5%
1,218 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speeches
war277 mentions in 53 of 64 speecheswar 277
conflict203 mentions in 54 of 64 speechesconflict 203
threat96 mentions in 39 of 64 speechesthreat 96
force83 mentions in 39 of 64 speechesforce 83
borders72 mentions in 35 of 64 speechesborders 72
attacks63 mentions in 30 of 64 speechesattacks 63
military62 mentions in 29 of 64 speechesmilitary 62
aggression61 mentions in 24 of 64 speechesaggression 61
violence55 mentions in 31 of 64 speechesviolence 55
territory54 mentions in 31 of 64 speechesterritory 54
weapons41 mentions in 17 of 64 speechesweapons 41
nuclear39 mentions in 15 of 64 speechesnuclear 39
terrorism29 mentions in 21 of 64 speechesterrorism 29
nuclear weapons25 mentions in 14 of 64 speechesnuclear weapons 25
terrorist25 mentions in 11 of 64 speechesterrorist 25
occupation22 mentions in 16 of 64 speechesoccupation 22
disarmament11 mentions in 8 of 64 speechesdisarmament 11
Peace and security
13.4%
1,200 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speeches
peace458 mentions in 62 of 64 speechespeace 458
security330 mentions in 62 of 64 speechessecurity 330
dialogue127 mentions in 41 of 64 speechesdialogue 127
stability87 mentions in 40 of 64 speechesstability 87
peaceful66 mentions in 37 of 64 speechespeaceful 66
diplomacy56 mentions in 32 of 64 speechesdiplomacy 56
negotiations32 mentions in 16 of 64 speechesnegotiations 32
peacekeeping19 mentions in 11 of 64 speechespeacekeeping 19
mediation15 mentions in 12 of 64 speechesmediation 15
ceasefire10 mentions in 8 of 64 speechesceasefire 10
International law and justice
12.7%
1,120 mentions, raised in 64 of 64 speeches
principles173 mentions in 55 of 64 speechesprinciples 173
international law152 mentions in 51 of 64 speechesinternational law 152
rules121 mentions in 38 of 64 speechesrules 121
order109 mentions in 42 of 64 speechesorder 109
sovereignty105 mentions in 35 of 64 speechessovereignty 105
resolution87 mentions in 34 of 64 speechesresolution 87
UN Charter86 mentions in 41 of 64 speechesUN Charter 86
law84 mentions in 36 of 64 speecheslaw 84
justice81 mentions in 37 of 64 speechesjustice 81
accountability31 mentions in 19 of 64 speechesaccountability 31
rule of law26 mentions in 17 of 64 speechesrule of law 26
genocide25 mentions in 10 of 64 speechesgenocide 25
humanitarian law12 mentions in 11 of 64 speecheshumanitarian law 12
impunity11 mentions in 10 of 64 speechesimpunity 11
war crimes9 mentions in 7 of 64 speecheswar crimes 9
crimes against humanity8 mentions in 7 of 64 speechescrimes against humanity 8
Climate, energy and oceans
7.0%
626 mentions, raised in 61 of 64 speeches
energy155 mentions in 53 of 64 speechesenergy 155
climate92 mentions in 32 of 64 speechesclimate 92
resilience74 mentions in 26 of 64 speechesresilience 74
climate change69 mentions in 37 of 64 speechesclimate change 69
sea59 mentions in 26 of 64 speechessea 59
ocean44 mentions in 17 of 64 speechesocean 44
freedom of navigation23 mentions in 16 of 64 speechesfreedom of navigation 23
Hormuz23 mentions in 19 of 64 speechesHormuz 23
maritime20 mentions in 15 of 64 speechesmaritime 20
renewable19 mentions in 12 of 64 speechesrenewable 19
small island states18 mentions in 8 of 64 speechessmall island states 18
energy security12 mentions in 8 of 64 speechesenergy security 12
maritime security8 mentions in 5 of 64 speechesmaritime security 8
climate finance6 mentions in 5 of 64 speechesclimate finance 6
loss and damage4 mentions in 4 of 64 speechesloss and damage 4
Technology and AI
4.6%
409 mentions, raised in 55 of 64 speeches
AI169 mentions in 44 of 64 speechesAI 169
technology131 mentions in 48 of 64 speechestechnology 131
digital46 mentions in 23 of 64 speechesdigital 46
innovation38 mentions in 23 of 64 speechesinnovation 38
disinformation9 mentions in 7 of 64 speechesdisinformation 9
cyber6 mentions in 5 of 64 speechescyber 6
cybersecurity5 mentions in 4 of 64 speechescybersecurity 5
data5 mentions in 4 of 64 speechesdata 5
Human rights, freedom and democracy
4.5%
397 mentions, raised in 61 of 64 speeches
human rights91 mentions in 43 of 64 speecheshuman rights 91
freedom86 mentions in 31 of 64 speechesfreedom 86
rights68 mentions in 36 of 64 speechesrights 68
human dignity43 mentions in 26 of 64 speecheshuman dignity 43
democratic38 mentions in 24 of 64 speechesdemocratic 38
dignity36 mentions in 27 of 64 speechesdignity 36
democracy35 mentions in 18 of 64 speechesdemocracy 35
Women, children and youth
4.2%
402 mentions, raised in 61 of 64 speeches
children122 mentions in 42 of 64 speecheschildren 122
generations95 mentions in 41 of 64 speechesgenerations 95
young72 mentions in 28 of 64 speechesyoung 72
women68 mentions in 30 of 64 speecheswomen 68
youth33 mentions in 14 of 64 speechesyouth 33
gender12 mentions in 11 of 64 speechesgender 12
Food, health and education
3.9%
350 mentions, raised in 59 of 64 speeches
education81 mentions in 35 of 64 speecheseducation 81
health71 mentions in 30 of 64 speecheshealth 71
water64 mentions in 25 of 64 speecheswater 64
food60 mentions in 31 of 64 speechesfood 60
food security33 mentions in 24 of 64 speechesfood security 33
agriculture22 mentions in 14 of 64 speechesagriculture 22
pandemic13 mentions in 12 of 64 speechespandemic 13
water security6 mentions in 6 of 64 speecheswater security 6
Humanitarian crises and displacement
2.3%
219 mentions, raised in 52 of 64 speeches
civilians61 mentions in 34 of 64 speechescivilians 61
humanitarian58 mentions in 33 of 64 speecheshumanitarian 58
migration29 mentions in 14 of 64 speechesmigration 29
humanitarian aid19 mentions in 15 of 64 speecheshumanitarian aid 19
displacement17 mentions in 13 of 64 speechesdisplacement 17
displaced12 mentions in 11 of 64 speechesdisplaced 12
refugees10 mentions in 9 of 64 speechesrefugees 10
hunger10 mentions in 7 of 64 speecheshunger 10
UNRWA3 mentions in 3 of 64 speechesUNRWA 3
Crime and trafficking
1.7%
137 mentions, raised in 34 of 64 speeches
crimes38 mentions in 17 of 64 speechescrimes 38
criminal35 mentions in 15 of 64 speechescriminal 35
organised crime22 mentions in 10 of 64 speechesorganised crime 22
trafficking17 mentions in 11 of 64 speechestrafficking 17
drug15 mentions in 10 of 64 speechesdrug 15
corruption5 mentions in 4 of 64 speechescorruption 5
cybercrime3 mentions in 2 of 64 speechescybercrime 3
transnational crime2 mentions in 2 of 64 speechestransnational crime 2
Crisis-related places named most often
Countries and places linked to current conflicts and crises, counted separately from the focus areas above. Palestine includes mentions of Gaza and the West Bank; a speech mentioning more than one is counted once in the speech total. Each leader’s own country is not counted, so Ukraine’s and Iran’s own speeches do not add to their totals.
PalestinePalestine 86, Gaza 55, West Bank 18159 in 32 speeches
Russia141 in 25 speeches
Ukraine107 in 29 speeches
Israel81 in 24 speeches
Middle East47 in 27 speeches
Iran44 in 17 speeches
Sudan31 in 24 speeches
Haiti21 in 8 speeches
Lebanon20 in 9 speeches
Syria17 in 8 speeches
Venezuela8 in 3 speeches
Yemen6 in 5 speeches
Congo6 in 6 speeches
How this was made: full speech texts from the UN General Debate portal auto-transcripts (UK: official gov.uk transcript), cleaned of procedural lines, common English words and courtesy phrases. Phrases such as “international law”, “food security” and “war crimes” are counted as one term so they land in the right area, and “in order to” is not counted as “order”. Two clear transcription errors in the Jordan transcript (“Raza” for Gaza, “Rawa” for UNRWA) were corrected. Related words were grouped into focus areas; the words counted in each area are listed under it. Shares use mentions per 1,000 words with each speech weighted equally, so long speeches do not dominate. Words about tone rather than topic (for example future, responsibility, challenges, region, power, opportunity, transformation, respect) are not assigned to any area. Auto-transcripts can contain errors. Analysis: burakc.com.
Five areas share the lead, at 13 to 16% each. They are UN reform and cooperation (16.4%), Development and economy (15.6%), War and conflict (13.5%), Peace and security (13.4%), and International law and justice (12.7%). They are 3.7 points apart, and their order depends on grouping choices, so treat them as a near tie.
Leaders spent as much time on the machinery as on war.Peace, war, law and rights together make up 44% of focus words. UN reform and development alone make up another 32%. The debate was as much about how the system works as about specific conflicts.
After the top five, there is a sharp drop.Climate, energyandoceans comes next at 7.0%. Everything else is under 5%.
The people-centred areas are small.Human rights, freedom and democracy is 4.5%. Women, children and youth is 4.2%. Food, health and education is 3.9%.
Humanitarian issues are mentioned, but only in passing.Humanitarian crises and displacement is 2.3% of focus words. 52 of 64 leaders touched on it, but briefly. The word “humanitarian” appears 58 times in total, against 169 for “AI” and 203 for “trust”. “Migration” appears 29 times, in 14 speeches.
Crime is a regional concern. Crime and trafficking is the smallest area (1.7%), raised in 34 speeches, mostly from the Americas.
Attention to named crises is not unexpected:
Palestine was named most often. Together with Gaza and the West Bank, it was named 159 times in 32 speeches, half of all speeches.
Russia and Ukraine came next. Russia was named 141 times in 25 speeches, Ukraine 107 times in 29.
Several other major crises got passing references.
Sudan was named in 24 speeches, but only 31 times: one line per speech on average.Haiti was named 21 times, in 8 speeches.
Yemen was named in 5 speeches and the DRC in 6.
What does this mean for humanitarian and development work?
This is my reading of the data, not a finding.
Leaders talked about fixing the system more than about any single crisis. “UN reform and cooperation” is the largest focus area (16.4%), just ahead of development, war, peace and law. Words like cooperation, trust, institutions, Security Council and reform run through almost every speech.
The shared message was that the system is not working. The disagreement was about who should fix it, and how.
My take: Pooled funds, anticipatory action and local partners are good examples as each is both a response to needs and a way to make the system work better.
Africa asked for a permanent African seat on the Security Council, debt relief, and climate money. They want the system reformed before they trust it.
The United States and Argentina focused on sovereignty and criticized the UN’s reach.
There is no shared agenda on debt and climate. African, Pacific and Caribbean leaders put debt and climate near the centre. European leaders barely mentioned debt and mentioned climate only briefly. We cannot say that leaders do not pay attention to the climate at all, but conflicts seem overshadowing natural ones.
Attention follows geopolitics. Ukraine was in Europe’s radar as it is also a security issue. However, Gaza is no longer a conflict anyone can look away from. Still, Sudan, Haiti and Yemen named very less then these two conflicts.
Humanitarian needs were mentioned, not discussed. Most leaders (52 of 64) touched on them, but only briefly: 2.3% of focus words. “Humanitarian” appears 58 times in all speeches; “AI” appears 169 times.
AI is becoming a governance topic, mostly for the North. If AI governance is designed mainly by the countries that talk about it, the Global South may again have to follow rules made by others.
What is your take from the UNGA81 speeches?
The analysis here is based on word counts and focus areas that I defined myself. It shows what leaders stressed, but it cannot capture the full sense of each speech. So what do you think the world leaders wanted to pass in New York?
How was the approach?
On 22 and 23 September 2026, many heads of state and government spoke at the opening of the 81st UN General Assembly. Similar to most of us, I was not able to follow each speech throughout the two days. However, I was able to reach 64 speeches in total at UN’s official site, and used AI-auto-generated texts provided by the UN (e.g., https://gadebate.un.org/en/81/jordan). I manually downloaded all speeches one by one. There are some speeches not available for download, such as Israel, at the time I gathered all speeches. I used AI to analyze the full texts of all 64 speeches in two ways:
Word clouds: I wanted to specifically use “word clouds” to see which words leaders repeated most, overall and by region. You may notice that Türkiye is under Middle East rather than Europe. I made the decision here, otherwise the Middle East group would have had only four speeches.
Focus areas: Not to get lost in an ocean of words, I thought that grouping related words into twelve topics would give a broader understanding to show where leaders actually spent their speaking time.
Both approaches use the same cleaned transcripts and the same counting rule: mentions per 1,000 words, with each speech weighted equally, so a long speech does not outweigh a short one. They answer different questions, and read together they tell a clearer story. How does the weighting work? Let’s take the word “peace”:
In Trump’s speech: it appears 10 times in 5,202 words, which is 1.9 times per 1,000 words.
In Rwanda’s speech: it appears 2 times in 661 words, which is 3.0 times per 1,000 words.
A raw count says the US speech used “peace” five times more. Relative to length, Rwanda’s speech gave it more emphasis. Each speech’s rate is calculated this way, and the rates are averaged, so that all 64 speeches have the same weight. Word sizes and focus-area percentages use these averaged rates. The mention and speech counts shown next to each word are plain totals, so the percentages can’t be recalculated from them directly. Does it make sense?
How to read this?
Source: the UN General Debate portal’s auto-generated transcripts. The UK text is the official gov.uk transcript. Auto-transcripts can contain errors; two clear errors in key names were corrected.
Missing speeches: Some speeches were not available or not made when I accessed such as Israel, Nauru, Tanzania, Bhutan, Paraguay, Central African Republic and Serbia are not in the data.
What was removed: procedural lines, courtesy phrases, common English words and each leader’s own country name.
Phrases kept together: “international law”, “food security” and “war crimes” are each counted as one term.
Grouping is a judgement: every word counted in each focus area is listed with its count on the focus-area page, so readers can check or question any grouping.
Word counts measure emphasis, not policy: a word used often is a sign of what a leader chose to stress, not proof of what their government will do.
In case you missed the previous Friday Humanitarian Scan posts here they are:
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