Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General: The threat to international law from power

“There are those that believe the power of law should be replaced by the law of power”

Anna Foster speaks to Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, about the threat to international law from states acting through power and influence instead, in particular America. Defending the rule of law is necessary, he says, if we are to have a better world.

He also sets out the case for reform of the UN Security Council to allow it to remain effective and relevant in the face of increasingly complex global conflicts.

Antonio Guterres has been at the head of the United Nations since 2017, and is now entering his final year in office. Thank you to the Today team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Mustafa Suleyman, boss of Microsoft AI. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Anna Foster Producer: Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang

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(Image: Antonio Guterres. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)