Javier Milei Calls UN ‘Useless’, Demands Action on Falklands Dispute

Argentine President Javier Milei called the United Nations a “useless organisation” in a sharp attack at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, accusing it of abandoning its founding principles while expanding its influence over how people live.

Delivering his third General Debate address, Milei accused the organisation of allowing chaos, violence and terrorism to persist and of sheltering dictatorships. He described it as a “useless organisation whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats”.

Milei said he would examine what the UN had failed to accomplish, what it had undertaken beyond its remit and how it should approach artificial intelligence. He also criticised member states for what he described as systematic voting against Israel.

Falklands: ‘What is lacking is consequences’

The Argentine president devoted part of his speech to the long-running sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, describing it as a “national cause”.

He accused the UN of failing to act on what Buenos Aires considers violations of Resolution 31/49, which concerns the disputed territory.

“There’s no shortage of words or resolutions. What is lacking is consequences,” he said.

Milei also objected to the Sea Lion oil project, saying preparations for extraction were advancing on what Argentina considers its continental shelf under British licences that Buenos Aires “rejects as illegal and illegitimate”.

He reiterated Argentina’s position that self-determination does not apply to the dispute, arguing that the islands’ population had been implanted by the occupying power in territory whose sovereignty remains contested.

Argentina had lodged diplomatic protests, imposed sanctions on companies involved in oil extraction on the disputed continental shelf and submitted a sovereignty defence bill to Congress, he said. He again urged the United Kingdom to resume sovereignty negotiations.

AI regulation and Argentina’s global position

Turning to the UN’s broader role, Milei accused it of becoming a “bureaucratic leviathan” that sought to dictate how people should live.

He described forced COVID-19 lockdowns as “a global experiment in social control disguised as science”, citing them as the reason for Argentina’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization.

Milei said Argentina had embraced free enterprise capitalism, was rebuilding its military and had “unequivocally aligned” itself with the West, the United States and Israel. He also condemned Iranian attacks on Israel.

On artificial intelligence, he rejected pre-emptive regulation, arguing that fears of technological revolutions eliminating jobs had historically failed to materialise as anticipated. Argentina would “stand at the forefront of freedom” by committing against such regulation, he said, while advocating limited liability for companies operating with AI agents and tax incentives.

Despite his criticism, Milei said Argentina would continue participating in multilateral forums “in good faith”.

“But we mustn’t confuse cooperation with subordination,” he added.

With inputs from ANI