Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard will be in New York City for the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly from September 22 to 26 and available for interviews. She will be meeting with senior UN figures and focusing her visit on the following issues:
- The selection of the next UN Secretary-General, and the state of the UN, multilateralism and the rules-based order
- Artificial Intelligence and the need for a global, binding, transparent, and effective regulatory model
- The Trump administration’s continuing attacks on international justice institutions
- International and multilateral responses to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank
- US-Israeli unlawful attacks on Iran, violations of international law and war crimes
- Iran’s internal repression, including crimes against humanity
- Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
- Sudan, the role of the UAE and the international community
- DRC, critical minerals and Rwanda
“The United Nations is at one of its most critical junctures since its foundation more than eight decades ago. The world is beset by genocide, war, climate collapse, rampant inequality, ascendent anti-rights movements, unprecedented corporate power, and a reckless, unrestrained and extractive race to develop ever-more advanced AI. The Security Council is mired in paralysis while powerful states are further undermining the UN’s relevance and effectiveness by subjecting it to severe political, financial, and diplomatic pressure,” said Agnès Callamard.
“The next UN Secretary-General must be a staunch defender of international law. They must be willing to confront the powerful bullies and predators that stalk the international stage. They must be prepared to resist geopolitical pressure, condemn atrocities no matter who commits them, and engage meaningfully and constructively with civil society. They cannot simply be a consensus manager whose selection is the result of a closed-door compromise by the powerful. The next Secretary-General must be someone with the conviction and the know-how to mount a robust and effective defence of human rights and the UN Charter.”
The United Nations is at one of its most critical junctures since its foundation more than eight decades ago.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
On 24 September, Agnès Callamard will be speaking at a side event hosted by Amnesty International, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, and the Committee to Protect Journalists:
When Atrocities Persist: International Responsibility and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
24 September 2026, 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Japan Society, Murase Room
333 E 47th St.
The event is open to media. Please register here.
The next Secretary-General must be someone with the conviction and the know-how to mount a robust and effective defence of human rights and the UN Charter.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
On 21 September, Amnesty International will publish a briefing examining human rights abuses against artisanal gold and cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, perpetuated by the M23 armed group with the support of Rwanda. Agnès Callamard will be available to discuss this and the implications it has for global trade and supply chains.