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Argentine President Javier Milei sharply criticised the United Nations, calling it a useless organization and accusing it of moving away from the principles on which it was founded.
Addressing the UN General Assembly during his third General Debate speech on Wednesday, Milei said he intended to speak in a constructive spirit about three areas: what the organisation was supposed to accomplish but had failed to do, what it had done despite being outside its remit, and its approach to artificial intelligence. Milei described the UN as a useless organisation whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats, while accusing the organisation of allowing chaos, violence and terrorism to persist and of sheltering dictatorships. He also criticised what he described as the voting record of UN member states on Israel, saying countries had systematically voted against the country. On the long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina refers to as the Malvinas, Milei said the issue remained a national cause for Buenos Aires. He accused the UN of failing to act on what Argentina considers violations of Resolution 31/49, adopted 50 years ago, which concerns the disputed territory. Theres no shortage of words or resolutions. What is lacking is consequences, Milei said. The Argentine President also raised the Sea Lion project, saying efforts were moving towards oil extraction on Argentina's continental shelf under British licences that Buenos Aires rejects as illegal and illegitimate. Milei reiterated Argentina's position that the principle of self-determination does not apply to the Falkland Islands dispute because, in Buenos Aires' view, the population was implanted by the occupying power in territory whose sovereignty remains contested. He said Argentina had submitted diplomatic protests, imposed sanctions on companies involved in oil extraction on the disputed continental shelf and sent a sovereignty defence bill to its Congress. Milei again called on the United Kingdom to resume negotiations over the sovereignty dispute. Turning to the UN's broader role, Milei said the organisation had developed what he called a bureaucratic leviathan that sought to determine how people should live. He also criticised the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, describing forced lockdowns as a global experiment in social control disguised as science. He cited this as the reason Argentina had withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO). Milei also outlined Argentina's broader policy direction, saying the country had embraced free enterprise capitalism, was rebuilding its military and had unequivocally aligned itself with the West, the United States and Israel. He condemned Iranian attacks on Israel as he outlined Buenos Aires' position on international affairs. On artificial intelligence, Milei argued against what he described as pre-emptive regulation, saying concerns about technological revolutions eliminating jobs had historically failed to materialise as feared. He said Argentina would stand at the forefront of freedom by committing not to regulate AI pre-emptively. Milei also advocated limited liability for companies operating with AI agents and tax incentives as part of Argentina's approach to the technology. Despite his criticism of the UN, Milei said Argentina would continue participating in multilateral forums. Argentina would take part in good faith, he said, while drawing a distinction between international cooperation and compliance with external demands. But we mustnt confuse cooperation with subordination," he added. Concluding his address, Milei said Argentina was seeking a renewed role on the international stage. No nation is guaranteed a place in history, he said. We believe that Argentina still has a great story ahead of it. And we have decided to go out and claim it. (ANI)
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