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UN General Assembly General Debate · 81st regular session of the General Assembly

Opening speech of the General Debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (2026)

Lula at the opening of the High-Level General Debate of the 81st Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on September 22, 2026.
Lula at the opening of the High-Level General Debate of the 81st Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on September 22, 2026.Photo: Ricardo Stuckert., CC BY-SA

Available records

The prepared text may differ from what was actually said. Any significant difference is recorded below.

Quotations are our translation from the Portuguese; the original wording is in the source excerpt.

Documentary record

The Brazilian opening speech of the General Debate of the 81st session was delivered by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.[1]

The speech took place on September 22, 2026, the first day of the General Debate of the 81st session.[2]

There is an official video on UN Web TV, from September 22, 2026, with a duration of 00:22:57.[3]

The MRE announced on 09/19/2026 that the President would deliver on September 22, "as usual," the opening speech of the General Debate, and stated the theme of the session.[4]

Topics, with excerpts from the speech

Each topic is backed by the literal excerpt, given in the source note.

There is a Portuguese text of the 2026 speech in a PDF with the header "Nota à Imprensa" dated September 22, 2026, signed by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic and deposited on the UN General Debate website.[5]

In the distributed text, Lula says that this is the tenth time he has opened the General Debate; Agência Brasil reports the same count.[6]

The official video on UN Web TV, from September 22, 2026, with a duration of 00:22:57, has tracks in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and "Original"; UN Web TV states that transcripts are generated automatically and may contain errors.[7]

The UN Audiovisual Library has the video (00:23:00) and states that low-resolution MP3 audio is free, subject to the terms of use of UN websites, and that high-resolution formats carry service and licensing fees.[8]

In the distributed text, Lula says that the UN is failing to free humanity from the scourge of war.[9]

In the distributed text and in Agência Brasil's account, Lula says that everyone is hostage to the immobility of the Security Council.[10]

In the distributed text, Lula says that "Brazil does not fit in anyone's backyard."[11]

In the distributed text, Lula says that Brazil does not need aircraft carriers watching over its waters.[12]

In the distributed text, Lula speaks of not confronting the regulation of Big Techs and AI as an unforgivable historical omission.[13]

In the distributed text, Lula says that Brazilian voters will decide between democracy and denialism.[14]

What remains to be documented

  • Speech content: Official transcript (record A/81/PV.*) and prepared text (Planalto/MRE) not yet located/accessed.
  • Speech content: The verbatim record of the session (A/81/PV.x) was not available on October 13, 2026: A/81/PV.1 to A/81/PV.20 returned an HTML page, not a PDF.
  • Speech content: Official English translation not located (record not yet published; gadebate with CAPTCHA; the English-language Planalto site requires login).

Sources and evidence

Excerpts are quoted in the original language of the source.

  1. 1. The Brazilian opening speech of the General Debate of the 81st session was delivered by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

  2. 2. The speech took place on September 22, 2026, the first day of the General Debate of the 81st session.

  3. 3. There is an official video on UN Web TV, from September 22, 2026, with a duration of 00:22:57.

    • Brazil - General Debate, 81st Session (UN Web TV) · UN: Department of Global Communications International organization
      Where: metadata: Production Date / Video Length. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Production Date 22 Sep 2026 Video Length 00:22:57”

  4. 4. The MRE announced on 09/19/2026 that the President would deliver on September 22, "as usual," the opening speech of the General Debate, and stated the theme of the session.

  5. 5. There is a Portuguese text of the 2026 speech in a PDF with the header "Nota à Imprensa" dated September 22, 2026, signed by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic and deposited on the UN General Debate website.

  6. 6. In the distributed text, Lula says that this is the tenth time he has opened the General Debate; Agência Brasil reports the same count.

  7. 7. The official video on UN Web TV, from September 22, 2026, with a duration of 00:22:57, has tracks in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and "Original"; UN Web TV states that transcripts are generated automatically and may contain errors.

    • Brazil - General Debate, 81st Session (UN Web TV) · UN: Department of Global Communications International organization
      Where: metadata (Video Length / Asset Language). Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Video Length 00:22:57 Asset Language Arabic Chinese English French Russian Spanish Original”
    • Brazil - General Debate, 81st Session (UN Web TV) · UN: Department of Global Communications International organization
      Where: "Transcript" block. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Transcripts are automatically generated and may contain errors.”
    • Brazil - General Debate, 81st Session (UN Web TV) · UN: Department of Global Communications International organization
      Where: metadata (Production Date / Video Length / Asset Language). Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Production Date 22 Sep 2026 Video Length 00:22:57 Asset Language Arabic Chinese English French Russian Spanish Original”

  8. 8. The UN Audiovisual Library has the video (00:23:00) and states that low-resolution MP3 audio is free, subject to the terms of use of UN websites, and that high-resolution formats carry service and licensing fees.

  9. 9. In the distributed text, Lula says that the UN is failing to free humanity from the scourge of war.

  10. 10. In the distributed text and in Agência Brasil's account, Lula says that everyone is hostage to the immobility of the Security Council.

  11. 11. In the distributed text, Lula says that "Brazil does not fit in anyone's backyard."

  12. 12. In the distributed text, Lula says that Brazil does not need aircraft carriers watching over its waters.

  13. 13. In the distributed text, Lula speaks of not confronting the regulation of Big Techs and AI as an unforgivable historical omission.

  14. 14. In the distributed text, Lula says that Brazilian voters will decide between democracy and denialism.