Milei presses Malvinas claim, slams 'useless' United Nations 'parasites' in speech

President Javier Milei attacked the United Nations in a fiery speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, branding the body a “useless organisation” that “only serves to feed a caste of parasites.”

Argentina’s leader accused the United Nations of having failed in its duty to guarantee collective security and human rights, saying it had instead allowed “chaos, violence and international terrorism” to flourish.

The UN “has become a useless organisation, serving only to feed a caste of fatally arrogant parasites disguised as well-intentioned bureaucrats,” said Milei, who accused the organisation, among other criticisms, of having committed “genocide” in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Milei, making his third address to the UNGA as head of state, accused the organisation of “looking the other way” on Argentina’s claim over the Malvinas Islands, the British-controlled territory known in the UK as the Falkland Islands.

Buenos Aires accuses Britain of flouting a UN resolution calling on both parties to refrain from unilateral action in and around the islands, over which the two countries fought a war in 1982.

In the final section of his speech, Milei criticised attempts to regulate Artificial Intelligence and pitched Argentina as a nation that would be at the forefront of its development.

 

‘National cause’

The La Libertad Avanza leader, who has recently ramped up his rhetoric over the Malvinas, dedicated much of his address to the sovereignty claim, which he described as a “national cause” for Argentina.

Painting the UN’s ability to intervene in the dispute as a symptom of its wider failings as a global force for good, Milei called on the UK to “restart negotiations” and find a peaceful solution to the longstanding dispute between the nations.

“An organisation that set out to defend the territorial sovereignty of its members decided to look the other way regarding the situation of the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas,” he said, slamming the UN.

For Milei, the Malvinas cause is “proof of the distance that can exist between the words of international institutions and the reality they seek to address.”

“There is no shortage of words or resolutions; what is lacking is for them to have consequences, because an institution that cannot make its word carry weight in the face of facts loses the most important thing: it loses its authority.”

“Under this reality, those who follow the rules receive no reward for doing so, while those who break them face no repercussions whatsoever,” said the right-wing leader.

 

Sea lion, dead cow

Milei singled out the Sea Lion project, which he said was moving towards oil extraction on Argentina’s continental shelf under British licences that Buenos Aires considers “illegal and illegitimate.” 

He said any activity not authorised by Argentina constituted an “illegal act” under international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as Argentine domestic law.

“Malvinas is not merely an issue between Argentina and the United Kingdom. It also raises a question about this organisation’s ability to enforce its own resolutions,” he claimed, adding that Argentina had responded to the “unauthorised exploitation” of resources in the disputed area by issuing formal warnings, legal measures, sanctions and sending a new defence bill to Congress.

Milei also linked the sovereignty dispute to Argentina’s wider energy ambitions, highlighting the potential of the Vaca Muerta shale formation and inviting international companies to invest. But he warned that the invitation did not extend to companies exploiting resources in territory Argentina considers to be under illegal foreign occupation.

“Our position has been taken. Argentina is not going to sit around waiting for the UN and the international community to live up to their own mandate; it will take action,” Milei said.

Milei criticised the British government for an alleged “selective” interpretation of the principle of self-determination when it comes to the islands. He called for an explanation of how that position could be reconciled with debates over self-determination within its own territory, a reference to independence movements in the countries that make up the UK.

“We have chosen a peaceful, practical and effective defence” of our sovereignty claim,” said Milei.

 

Pandemic ‘genocide’

Milei, who will seek re-election in October 2027, also criticised the UN’s support for the 2030 Agenda, which he said was marked by economic regulation, gender issues, environmental debates and what he described as “uncontrolled immigration.”

He went on to predict the body’s 2045 Agenda – which in reality does not exist, but is a shorthand reference to the UN’s Pact for the Future agreement, agreed in 2024 and designed to improve the body’s ability to tackle global challenges – would also fail.

Argentina’s leader saved his harshest words, however, for the UN’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic, effectively accusing international health bodies of being responsible for a “genocide.”

“During the pandemic, bodies under this organisation’s umbrella disregarded scientific evidence and the sovereignty of nations and promoted policies of forced lockdowns across the globe that destroyed jobs, ruined the education of an entire generation of children, and cost the lives of millions of people who died alone, without basic medical care,” he stated.

“Where some claim a mistake in health policy, we see a global experiment in social control disguised as science,” declared the President.

“When a state, blinded by health policy, deprives its population of the right to work, to receive an education, and to bid farewell to their dead – and this results in millions of preventable deaths – there is one word to describe it: genocide,” he alleged.

 

AI frontier

In the final section of his speech, Milei moved on to Artificial Intelligence, rejecting calls for its regulation and state control of the technology.

He echoed remarks made the previous day by US President Donald Trump, who had criticised doomsday warnings and suggested renaming AI “Super Intelligence.”

“The dystopian scenarios often cited to instil fear and facilitate state control make no sense from an economic point of view,” Milei stated, proposing that “the West should lead the development of this technology.”

“It can transform our economies, our medicine, our education and even the way we govern. Does that require prudence? Yes. But prudence does not mean fear, and, moreover, fear should under no circumstances automatically become obedience,” argued the President.

“We want to be the most competitive place in the world for developing it, with a cutting-edge legal framework, a commitment not to regulate preventively, limited liability for companies using AI agents and tax benefits,” said Milei.

“Where many see a threat, we see a frontier,” he declared. “With regard to Artificial Intelligence, Argentina will place itself at the forefront of freedom.”

The President closed out his speech with a defence of his government’s economic model.

“For far too long, Argentina managed its decline; we managed poverty, we managed isolation, we managed irrelevance. We became accustomed to discussing how to divide up what was left, rather than asking ourselves how to return to growth, how to rebuild what we had lost,” he said.

“That is over. We have already lost too much. We do not want to lose any more, which is why we have embraced free-market capitalism. We are opening up our economy to trade and investment. We are making progress in developing our strategic resources,” he added. “We are rebuilding our military after decades of neglect.”

“We want a prosperous, influential and powerful Argentina. Not to subjugate others, but to be free. Not to conquer others, but so that our destiny may be decided by the Argentine people,” he stated.

“We believe that Argentina still has a great future ahead of it. And we have decided to go and seize it. May God bless all the peoples of the world. May God bless the Argentine Republic. May the forces of heaven be with us, and long live freedom, dammit!” he concluded.

 

– TIMES/PERFIL/AFP