President William Ruto has pointed to the United Nations’ record in peacekeeping and improving human welfare as evidence of the organisation’s continued value, even as he admitted that it has fallen short of some of the commitments made when it was founded.
Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Ruto said the UN had played a key role in helping countries recover from conflict and creating conditions for lasting peace.
He said the organisation’s contribution could be seen in several countries that went through political or armed conflict, citing Namibia, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Timor-Leste.
“The United Nations also made a difference where peace had been broken. It helped Namibia achieve independence, supported Cambodia’s transition from conflict, disarmed combatants in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and helped Timor-Leste take its place among sovereign nations,” Ruto said.
The President said the scale of UN peacekeeping efforts also showed the role the organisation has played in protecting peace in different parts of the world.
More than two million peacekeepers have served under the UN flag, according to the organisation, with personnel drawn from 125 countries since 1948.
Ruto said their contribution provided evidence that peace could be achieved and maintained through joint action by nations.
He also turned to the UN’s work outside conflict zones, saying its wider system had contributed to better living conditions for people in many parts of the world.
According to Ruto, the organisation has supported efforts that led to the eradication of smallpox, helped vaccinate generations of children and supported the fight against hunger and disease.
He added that the UN had also played a role in increasing access to education, clean water and humanitarian assistance for communities facing difficult conditions.
“Since the year 2000, deaths among children under five have fallen by more than half. These achievements matter,” Ruto said.
UN estimates released in March 2026 indicate that deaths of children below five years had dropped by more than half since 2000. Despite the progress, 4.9 million children still died before reaching the age of five in 2024.
Ruto said such gains showed what could be achieved when countries chose to work together rather than act alone.
“They changed borders, ended wars, defeated disease, and transformed lives. They tell us that multilateralism works when nations summon the will to make it work,” he said.
However, the President also recognised shortcomings within the international body, saying its performance should not be discussed without acknowledging areas where it had failed to meet expectations.
“The United Nations has not fulfilled every promise of its charter. But without it, our world would have been poorer, more dangerous, and less free,” he said.
Ruto said support for the UN should therefore be matched by a willingness to examine the institution as it exists today and address the challenges it faces.
“Yet conviction in what this institution can be requires us to confront what this institution has become,” Ruto said.