More than 130 world leaders will gather at the United Nations next week, facing the threat of wars in the Middle East and Europe spreading, frustration at the slow pace of efforts to end those conflicts, and worsening climate and humanitarian crises.
Kabul 24: The wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan are expected to be the three main crisis points in focus at the General Assembly, but diplomats and analysts don’t anticipate breakthroughs on any of them.
Concerns about Spillover from Gaza Conflict
Concerns about the Gaza conflict spilling over to the broader Middle East have escalated after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah accused Israel of detonating explosives, leading to deadly attacks. Israel has not commented on the accusation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned, “There is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”
The war in besieged Gaza was triggered by a Hamas attack on civilians in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, two weeks after last year’s UN General Assembly. Mediation efforts by the US, Egypt, and Qatar have yet to broker a ceasefire, and global patience has waned nine months after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly demanded a humanitarian truce, with the Gaza death toll reaching 41,000.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 26.
Looming Prospect of a New US Administration
Also looming this year is the prospect of a new US administration. Republican Donald Trump, who cut UN funding and called the global body weak and incompetent while in office from 2017 to 2021, faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in a Nov. 5 election.
“Clearly in the back of everyone’s mind is going to be a guy called Donald Trump,” said Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group. “I think in a lot of the private conversations around the General Assembly … the number one question will be what will Trump do to the organization.”
Sideline Events and Guterres’ Perspective
This year, side events will focus on the war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where famine has taken hold, international efforts to help Haiti fight gang violence, and the Taliban crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Guterres poked fun at himself, saying he has “no power and no money.” He added, “There are two things the Secretary-General of the United Nations has, and I have to say that I’ve been using them. One is my voice, and nobody will be able to shut it up. And second is the capacity to convene people of goodwill to address and solve problems.”
Diplomatic Speed-Dating at the UN General Assembly
The annual gathering of world leaders to mark the beginning of each new session of the General Assembly is often referred to as diplomatic speed-dating.
While the event is anchored by six days of leaders’ speeches to the assembly, much of the action happens on the sidelines with hundreds of bilateral meetings and dozens of side events seeking to focus the global spotlight on the main issues.
Iran, Ukraine, and Western Accusations
Western accusations about Iran’s role in the Middle East – Hamas, Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Houthis are aligned with Tehran – and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine also shadow this year’s UN General Assembly.
European powers seek to revive efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear program, and Iranian and European officials are due to meet in New York next week to test their mutual willingness to engage.
Iran’s comparatively moderate new president Masoud Pezeshkian will address the United Nations on Tuesday, focusing on detente, building confidence with the world, and de-escalation, while also stressing Iran’s right to retaliate against Israel if needed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address the high-level General Assembly gathering for the third time since Russia invaded his country. He is due to address a meeting on Ukraine of the 15-member Security Council on Tuesday and the General Assembly on Wednesday.
Zelenskiy has a plan to push Russia to diplomatically end the war that he wants to present to US President Joe Biden this month, and share with both of Biden’s potential successors, Harris and Trump.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually addressed the General Assembly in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has not physically traveled to New York for the event since 2015. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is instead due to speak to the General Assembly on Sept. 28.
