Argentine President Javier Milei has launched a sharp attack on the United Nations, describing it as a “useless organisation” and accusing it of failing to fulfil its founding responsibilities.
Milei made the remarks during his address to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, September 23. In his speech, he argued that the organisation had departed from its original mission of protecting international law, national sovereignty, human rights and peaceful cooperation. He said the principles behind the UN’s creation were noble but claimed the institution had failed to uphold them.
“It has become a useless organisation whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats,” Milei said. The Argentine president accused the UN of failing to guarantee collective security and protect human rights, claiming that it had instead allowed “chaos, violence and international terrorism” to flourish.
Milei also strongly criticised what he described as the organisation’s treatment of Israel and its approach to human rights. “The alleged defenders of human rights have sheltered bloodthirsty dictatorships and regimes that stone women in the streets,” he said.
“They have systematically voted against Israel while remaining silent in the face of Islamic terrorism and the genocide of Christians in Africa.” Those assertions reflected Milei’s characterisation of the UN’s record and were not presented in his speech as findings by an independent international body.
Milei reaffirmed Argentina’s foreign-policy alignment with the United States, Israel and the broader Western bloc, saying his government shared a “deep affinity of values” with them. He also condemned Iran’s attacks against Israel and highlighted Argentina’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Argentina formally added the Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to its terrorism registry in January 2026, before expanding the designation to the IRGC as a whole in August. Milei used the address to criticise the UN on other issues, including the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
He described the islands as a “national cause” for Argentina and accused the UN of failing to enforce its own resolutions concerning the sovereignty dispute. Milei called on the United Kingdom to resume negotiations aimed at reaching a peaceful resolution.
The UK maintains that the Falkland Islanders have the right to determine their own political status. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of participating islanders voted to remain a British Overseas Territory. Argentina disputes the applicability of self-determination to the sovereignty question.
Milei’s speech continued the Argentine president’s broader criticism of international institutions and multilateral governance, while underscoring his government’s close political alignment with the United States and Israel.