Africa: After a Decade, the UN's Antonio Guterres Is Stepping Down. His Legacy Will Be Mixed, At Best

What the report says

António Guterres is preparing to leave office as UN secretary-general at the end of the year, after nearly a decade leading the world body. In a farewell address to the UN General Assembly, he reflected on a period marked by wars, civilian suffering, attacks on human rights, hunger used as a weapon and deep strain on international law, according to the commentary published by The Conversation Africa and distributed by AllAfrica.

The article argues that Guterres took the job during an especially difficult era for the United Nations, with many active conflicts, worsening climate risks, rising concern about artificial intelligence and growing divisions among major powers. It places his record alongside earlier UN chiefs such as Dag Hammarskjöld, Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, noting that they were able to leave a stronger imprint through peacekeeping, institutional reform or human-rights initiatives.

Among Guterres’ cited achievements are the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2022, efforts to elevate women into senior UN roles, climate diplomacy and attention to the governance of AI. The piece says those gains were offset by budget cuts, staff reductions and humanitarian funding shortages, as well as by the UN’s failure to end wars in places including Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan and Gaza.

The analysis also argues that the UN has become more fragile and that Guterres was constrained by powerful member states and wider geopolitical rivalry. More broadly, it says his tenure will likely be judged by the gap between the UN’s promises and its ability to protect civilians and stop atrocities.