From Gaza to Ukraine and beyond, the vast majority of humanitarian needs are driven by conflict – a catastrophe made by human hands – that is turning the geopolitical dial away from the rule of law and towards brute force and aggression, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom told the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights inspires him, from his student days to being a prime minister, because it speaks of equal rights and peace, he said that notion “could seem like a distant hope today” amid a landscape of war, poverty, climate change or pandemics.

“My message today is this: We are returning the UK to responsible global leadership because I think the international system can be better,” he said. “This is the moment to reassert fundamental principles…to recommit to the UN…to work together for peace, progress and equality.”

Outlining a path towards those goals, he first pointed to ongoing wars, expressing London’s support for Ukraine. Calling on Israel to “step back from the brink” to provide space for a diplomat settlement, he said an immediate ceasefire is needed in Gaza, where the suffering continues to grow. Diplomacy is the only way to break the cycle of violence, he said.

“We have to face some hard truths,” he said. “The institutions of peace are struggling, underfunded, under pressure and over-politicised.”

The entire framework of arms control has begun to fall away, and artificial intelligence is beginning to be put to military use without regulation.

“That’s why the new Pact for the Future is so important” to, among other things, make institutions for peace fit for purpose at a time when the world also needs to get the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track, he continued.

At the same time, the existential threat of climate change is happening “in the here and now”, he warned, noting that the UK is doing its part, having lifted a de facto ban on on-shore wind, ended new oil and gas licenses and created great British energy “as we become the first major economy to transition to clean power by 2030”.

“We will meet our net-zero target,” he announced, “and we’ll support others to do the same”, including by contributing to climate adaption because “those who did not cause this crisis should not be left to cope with the consequences.”

Certain steps are now needed, including a bolder approach to tackle unsustainable debt, barriers to investment and putting a price on the cost of emissions, he continued. In addition, a critical milestone in the fight against poverty represents a time for ambitious plans to seize the moment. Meanwhile, reform is also needed, including of the UN Security Council.

“We are ready to work with all UN members because the scale of the challenges we face demand it, and our prosperity and security depend on it,” he said. “Together, in all our interests, we can change direction from the dangerous, destructive path we find ourselves on and turn instead towards the rule of law, towards cooperation, responsibility and progress, towards peace.”