Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday called for Gaza's reconstruction to begin without delay and urged the international community to increase pressure on Israel.
Addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Erdoğan said efforts to rebuild Gaza should start as soon as possible.
"We need to begin the reconstruction of Gaza without wasting any time. In this regard, I call on you to exert greater pressure on Israel," he said.
Erdoğan said Türkiye remained committed to the agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh a year earlier and would continue to follow up on its implementation.
He said attempts to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state would ultimately fail.
"Everyone should now understand and accept this: Attempts to strangle the State of Palestine will end in failure," he said.
He expressed hope that an independent Palestinian state with territorial integrity, based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, would eventually be established.
"We will, God willing, see those beautiful days when an independent and territorially integrated State of Palestine, within the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, will come into being," Erdoğan said.
Starting his address, Erdoğan expressed his sadness that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been unable to participate in the UN General Assembly for two consecutive years.
"Palestinian President Mr. Abbas has been unable to be in this hall for two consecutive years. This injustice against our Palestinian brothers and sisters wounds consciences," he added.
Erdoğan said Türkiye would continue to speak on behalf of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state despite Abbas' absence.
"Although Mr. Abbas cannot be here in person, just as we did last year, we will be the voice of a free and sovereign State of Palestine," he said.
Erdoğan called on countries to recognize a Palestinian state. "Today, once again, I call on all countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to reconsider their decisions," he said.
Addressing the situation in the Gaza Strip, Erdoğan said the enclave had become the world's largest cemetery for children and the region with the world's highest rate of child amputations.
Erdoğan said 74,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, had been killed in Gaza over the past three years, describing them as victims of "Israel's state terror."
He said Palestinians continued to search for loved ones beneath the rubble and recover the bodies of their spouses, children and parents, while children who lost limbs in Israeli attacks were trying to return to school and continue their lives with wooden prostheses.
More than 70% of generators in Gaza's hospitals were currently out of service because of fuel shortages, Erdoğan said.
"Gaza is the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our age," he added.
Erdoğan said more than 1,500 Palestinians had been killed even after the October 2025 ceasefire was reached through the efforts of US President Donald Trump and with contributions from Türkiye and other countries.
He said that although the Palestinian resistance movement had agreed to move to the second phase of the peace plan, the Israeli government was unwilling to end the occupation.
Turning to the occupied West Bank, Erdoğan said the territory was experiencing its worst period of settler violence, while Muslims and Christians were being prevented from accessing holy sites in Jerusalem.
He also said that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was being targeted.
"We are facing a genocidal mindset that cannot get enough of killing," Erdoğan said, adding that no one with humanity, mercy, compassion and conscience could turn a blind eye to the situation.
He stressed that the issue was not a personal matter for him but "a humanitarian issue" and "a matter of conscience for all of us."
Erdoğan said the situation showed that the UN, founded 81 years ago to maintain peace and security, had been rendered unable to fulfill its responsibility.
He said people in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and other crisis regions who had placed their hopes in the UN were deeply disappointed.
"One day, everyone will have to seek refuge in humanity's common conscience," he said, warning that although people may currently feel safe and live far from conflict zones, no one knows what the future may bring.
Erdoğan said he considered this year's General Assembly theme, which focuses on rebuilding trust in the international system, particularly appropriate and voiced support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' reform efforts, including the UN80 Initiative.
He said trust in the UN could only be restored when children in Gaza could live safely, Palestinian children could look to the sky and see kites rather than warplanes and drones, children in Lebanon did not wake to the sound of bombs, workers were not exploited, and people in Africa could look to their futures with confidence.
Erdoğan also renewed his call for reform of the UN Security Council, saying a structure in which the will of more than 190 countries depends on five countries is neither fair nor capable of fully establishing trust.
"The Security Council must be reformed in accordance with the principle that 'the world is bigger than five,'" he said.
Erdoğan said the international community must change an approach under which international law is applied differently to powerful and weaker states.
"An international system in which wrongdoers get away with what they do and impunity becomes normalized is doomed to decay," he said.
Outlining principles for a more equitable international order, Erdoğan said regional ownership should be used when international efforts to resolve crises reach an impasse, citing the Black Sea Grain Corridor as an example of an initiative that contributed to regional and global security.
He also called for cooperation and open diplomacy to be placed at the center of interstate relations, arguing that history had repeatedly shown that politics built on distrust produces no winners.
Erdoğan called for a new paradigm to address widening global income inequality, saying shared development, solidarity and connectivity were key to greater peace and stability.
He also warned against "techno-polarization" and "digital hegemony," saying technological development should remain human-centered and should not create new divisions between those with access to technology and those without it.
Erdoğan said Türkiye sought a more just and humane international system not only through rhetoric but also through its policies.
Referring to a defense alliance established with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, he said Türkiye aimed both to strengthen solidarity and to develop regional solutions to regional problems.
He said Ankara was continuing efforts with relevant actors to bring an end to conflict in the Gulf and warned against attempts to spread regional fighting to neighboring areas.
Turning to Syria, Erdoğan said the country had entered a new phase since December 2024 after 14 years of suffering.
He said Syria, under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, was moving toward becoming a secure and peaceful country despite internal and external challenges, and that Türkiye would continue to stand by the Syrian people.
On Iraq, Erdoğan said Türkiye fully supported efforts to strengthen state authority and consolidate stability and was working with Baghdad on strategic transportation and energy projects, particularly the Development Road Project.
Addressing the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdoğan said Türkiye sincerely wanted the conflict to end with Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity ensured.
He said Ankara remained in contact with the parties to restore navigational safety in the Black Sea, ensure food security and prevent the war from spreading to a wider region.
Erdoğan also condemned recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, saying such attacks were "unacceptable regardless of who carried them out."
Erdoğan said Türkiye believed freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved.
On the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, he said existing disputes should be resolved on the basis of good-neighborly relations and international law, adding that Türkiye's proposal for an Eastern Mediterranean Conference could help establish common ground.
Erdoğan also reiterated his call for the recognition of sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people and for an end to their international isolation.
He called on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and establish political, diplomatic and economic relations with it.
Erdoğan described Türkiye as an "island of stability" amid regional conflicts, citing its defense industry and the economy, saying the country continued to play a significant role in European security and prosperity.
Referring to the NATO summit hosted in Ankara in July, he said the meeting demonstrated Türkiye's commitment to common security.
"It is not possible for a Europe that excludes Türkiye from its security architecture to become stronger or safer," Erdoğan said, adding that Ankara expected the European Union to adopt the same strategic vision in its relations with Türkiye.
On the Balkans, Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye's historical, cultural and human ties with the region and said joint steps were being taken through the Balkan Peace Platform to deepen cooperation.
In South Caucasus, he voiced support for lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia and praised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for their will to reach a solution.
He said Türkiye was also continuing its normalization process with Armenia.
Erdoğan said the Organization of Turkic States had developed into an exemplary regional cooperation model, that the 13th leaders' summit, scheduled to be held in Ankara on Oct. 30, would open new opportunities for the organization.
He said the fourth Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit, due to be held in Libya in December, would symbolize more than two decades of institutional partnership between Türkiye and Africa.
Commenting on South Asian affairs, Erdoğan said disputes, including the Kashmir issue, should be addressed through dialogue within the framework of relevant UN provisions and resolutions.
"When a constructive approach is adopted, every problem can be resolved," he said.
Coming to Africa, Erdoğan voiced Türkiye's support for a ceasefire and lasting peace efforts in Sudan and for measures to strengthen security, development and institutional capacity in Somalia.
He said maintaining stability in Libya remained a priority and stressed that the reconciliation process should proceed under Libyan leadership and ownership.
Erdoğan said Türkiye would continue strengthening relations with Asia-Pacific partners through its Asia Anew Initiative, and described the elevation of ties with ASEAN to Dialogue Partner level as a concrete result of that policy.
He said Türkiye was also developing relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries on the basis of mutual respect, partnership and a win-win approach.
Turning to climate change, Erdoğan said the world faced serious environmental threats affecting air, water, soil and living species, while developing countries and the Pacific region were struggling to access the financing needed to confront the climate crisis.
He said Türkiye would host the COP31 summit in Antalya in November and would seek to put climate justice at the center of the gathering.
Erdoğan said Türkiye's partnership with Australia aimed to make COP31 an "implementation COP," where financing pledges were fulfilled, technology transfer was accelerated and commitments were translated into concrete steps.
He highlighted the Zero Waste Movement launched by first lady Emine Erdoğan in 2017, saying it had grown into a global awareness campaign. He described the initiative as a key bridge connecting different methods of combating the climate crisis.
Erdoğan warned that excessive consumption and a growing culture of waste posed a threat comparable to climate change.
He said 5.8 trillion servings of food, amounting to more than 2 billion tons, were wasted globally every year, while hundreds of millions of people searched for food in garbage.
Türkiye was ready to contribute to efforts to reduce waste and strengthen global food security, he said.
Erdoğan also announced that Türkiye had nominated Mehmet Mehdi Eker for the post of director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and asked member states for their support.
Addressing emerging social threats, Erdoğan said hostility toward Islam was spreading in Western countries and that Muslim women and girls had increasingly faced discrimination.
He criticized headscarf bans in schools in some countries, describing them as an attack on women's fundamental rights.
Erdoğan said xenophobia, cultural racism and antisemitism were harmful trends that required determined action.
He criticized "gender-neutralization policies," saying Türkiye would continue initiatives aimed at protecting the family and children.
Erdoğan also identified the spread of disinformation on social media as another threat to social peace, and said defending the truth had become more important than ever.
On artificial intelligence, Erdoğan called for a common international legal framework, saying the time for such regulation had already arrived.
He urged accelerated work toward preparing and bringing into force a UN international convention on artificial intelligence.
Concluding his address, Erdoğan said the positions he had voiced would disturb some actors but that Türkiye would continue speaking out on behalf of those facing injustice.
Quoting the late Turkish poet Sezai Karakoç, Erdoğan said that even if people remained silent, "history will not" and "the truth will not."
He pledged to continue defending what he described as the rights of the oppressed, victims and those without a voice for as long as he remained able to do so.
"If necessary, we will endure hardship; if necessary, we will pay a price. But we will not remain silent in the face of injustice, and we will never consent to oppression," Erdoğan said.
He said the world faced two possible paths: allowing fear, conflict and isolation to deepen uncertainty, or building the future through justice, solidarity and common will.
Türkiye, he argued, has chosen the second path and would continue along it, calling on those listening at the UN and around the world to support a shared vision for the future.
