MADRID, Spain / RankWire.AI / – UN Secretary-General António Guterres described Ibero-America as a cultural superpower on Thursday, November 5, telling leaders at the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid that culture has a global power to build peace. The region is not a military superpower, Guterres said, but its shared culture gives it unique strength. Guterres called culture a fundamental right and the fabric of the human family.
Culture is inseparable from the dignity of every person, Guterres told the plenary session. The region’s cultures weave together Indigenous, African and European heritage, through encounters as well as wounds, the UN chief said. Guterres urged leaders to protect languages, histories, traditions and beliefs, and to defend the freedom of artists to express themselves, especially when their work makes people uncomfortable. Culture gives people roots and belonging, Guterres added.
Culture as a path to peace
Guterres said culture teaches people to doubt, to question and to see nuance. Calling for more arts and humanities in education to build critical thinking, the Secretary-General said culture helps people recognize humanity in others, even in yesterday’s adversary. “That is where peace begins,” Guterres said, according to the Emirates News Agency. An agreement can silence weapons, Guterres added, but reconciliation is harder. Guterres has spent nearly a decade as UN Secretary-General.
Guterres pointed to Picasso’s Guernica, held in Madrid, as a reminder of the absurdity of war. Culture, the UN chief said, can carry the memory of pain without keeping hatred alive. The world speaks many languages and sings different songs, Guterres said, but all of them tell the same story of a shared humanity. Guterres has made repeated appeals for peace, including calls for the release of UN personnel held in Yemen.
The Secretary-General also urged countries to welcome migrants and refugees with dignity, saying that doing so honors the region’s tradition. Loving what is one’s own does not require fearing what belongs to others, Guterres said. Migration has become a central political issue in many countries in Europe and the Americas, and the appeal was aimed at leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. Guterres led the UN refugee agency for a decade before becoming Secretary-General.
AI must reflect all voices
Turning to technology, Guterres said artificial intelligence must speak with all voices, rather than letting a few companies decide what people see, read and believe. The more capable machines become, the more humanity will need what makes people human, Guterres said. Warnings about AI misuse have grown, with authorities raising alarms over tools such as deepfake scams targeting the public. Guterres has repeatedly called for global rules to govern AI.
Guterres began the address with condolences to the families of victims of the Urda railway accident in Spain and abroad. The summit comes during the final stage of Guterres’s second term, which ends on December 31, 2026. Ibero-American summits bring together leaders from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and Andorra to discuss shared priorities and cooperation across the region. Spain hosted this year’s gathering in its capital.