While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights inspires him, from his student days to being a prime minister, because it speaks of equal rights and peace, he said that notion “could seem like a distant hope today” amid a landscape of war, poverty, climate change or pandemics.

“My message today is this: We are returning the UK to responsible global leadership because I think the international system can be better,” he said. “This is the moment to reassert fundamental principles…to recommit to the UN…to work together for peace, progress and equality.”

Outlining a path towards those goals, he first pointed to ongoing wars, expressing London’s support for Ukraine. Calling on Israel to “step back from the brink” to provide space for a diplomat settlement, he said an immediate ceasefire is needed in Gaza, where the suffering continues to grow. Diplomacy is the only way to break the cycle of violence, he said.