The formal theme of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which opened on September 8, is “Restoring trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers For All”. President of the General Assembly Khalilur Rahman stated that he would work with all member-States “to ensure our Organization is fit for the future and worthy of a resounding affirmation”.

The invocation of trust is both important and ironic, because confidence in the world body is clearly under strain. Pew’s 2026 survey found favourable views of the UN declining significantly in 10 countries, even though a 55% median across 37 countries still viewed the organisation positively. The problem, therefore, is perhaps less a rejection of multilateralism than declining confidence in the UN’s ability to deliver. UNGA-81 has, if anything, stressed the continuing importance of international cooperation. French President Emmanuel Macron put the choice starkly, warning that the alternative to a rules-based international order was a return to the “law of the jungle”.

And the UN has also made an attempt to steady the ship, looking sharply inward at its own institutional housekeeping since last year. It has organised that effort around three broad workstreams: making the machinery more efficient, reviewing the many mandates accumulated over time, and examining whether structures........

© hindustantimes