Annalena Baerbock told world leaders in Davos that multilateralism can survive only if states defend shared rules and confront deliberate falsehoods.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum session Who Brokers Trust Now?, Baerbock said global institutions traditionally relied upon to uphold trust are now under acute pressure as conflicts rise and respect for international law erodes.
“These are not ordinary times,” she cautioned, adding that the world is experiencing more conflicts than at any point in recent history. Since the start of 2026, she said, divisions within the international community have deepened further, leaving some Member States hesitant to speak out in defence of the UN Charter’s three pillars: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights. “The UN is not only under pressure but under outright attack,” she said.
Baerbock stressed that trust depends on truth, warning that disinformation is increasingly being weaponised to obscure facts. Citing Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa, she said: “Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust.” She added that diplomatic silence in the face of clear falsehoods only widens fractures.
She also raised concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence, noting that deepfakes are “systematically attacking women”, with the overwhelming majority consisting of pornographic content targeting female public figures.
Turning to the rules‑based order, Baerbock said the UN Charter remains the world’s “common life insurance”, arguing that respect for international law is not idealism but enlightened self‑interest. Predictability and fairness, she said, underpin both global security and economic investment.
She called for a broad, cross‑regional alliance of governments and businesses to defend shared principles, insisting that trust is brokered by those prepared to uphold common rules even when it is politically difficult. The challenge now, she said, is whether today’s leaders can match the conviction of the post‑war generation who built the UN system.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
