After two years when many leaders stood by video because of the coronavirus pandemic, now presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and foreign ministers gathered almost entirely in person for the world’s premier event of diplomacy. But the tone was not celebratory. Instead, it was the explosion of a tense and anxious world. “We are locked in colossal global dysfunction,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, adding that “our world is in peril — and paralyzed.” He and others pointed to conflicts ranging from Russia’s six-month war in Ukraine to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Speakers are concerned about a changing climate, rising fuel prices, food shortages, economic inequality, immigration, misinformation, discrimination, hate speech, public health and more. After two years of holding the summit virtually or in a hybrid format, 157 world leaders and their representatives are expected to attend the UN General Assembly in person. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) However, Guterres began by expressing a note of hope. He showed a video of the first UN-chartered ship carrying grain from Ukraine – part of a deal between Ukraine and Russia helped by the United Nations and Turkey – to the Horn of Africa, where millions of people are on the brink of starvation. It is, he said, an example of promise and hope “in a world teeming with turmoil.”
The military peak of Russia
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was at the top of many speakers’ agendas. The conflict has become the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II and has opened rifts between the major powers in a way not seen since the Cold War. Meanwhile, the loss of important grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia has caused a food crisis, especially in developing countries, and inflation in many countries. As Jordan’s King Abdullah II noted, affluent countries experiencing unprecedented shortages are “discovering a truth that people in developing countries have known for a long time: For countries to thrive, affordable food must reach everyone’s table.” family”. In an impassioned speech to the assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron said no country can stand on the sidelines in the face of Russia’s aggression. He accused those who remain silent of being “somehow complicit in a new case of imperialism” that is trampling the current world order and making peace impossible. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, traditionally the first speaker, called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, the protection of civilians and “the maintenance of all channels of dialogue between the parties”. He opposed what he called “one-sided or one-sided” Western sanctions, saying they have damaged the economic recovery and threatened the human rights of vulnerable populations. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called for a ceasefire in Ukraine during his speech on Tuesday. (Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press) Neither Ukraine nor Russia have yet had their turn to speak. The assembly agreed to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to speak via video, after objections from Russia and some of its allies. Zelenskiy’s speech is expected on Wednesday, as is US President Joe Biden’s personal speech. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to attend the forum on Saturday.
Nearly 150 leaders to speak
Nearly 150 heads of state and government are on the list of latest speakers, a high number that reflects the United Nations remains the only place, not just to express their views, but to meet privately to discuss challenges on the global agenda — and hopefully make some progress. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s two-day visit began Tuesday with a bilateral meeting with Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the president of Suriname, this year’s chairman of Caricom, a political and economic coalition of 15 member states across the Caribbean. The rest of Trudeau’s United Nations agenda is loaded with meetings on issues he cares about: climate change, gender equality and sustainable development, among others. Later on Tuesday he was to participate in a roundtable with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the virtues of inclusive job growth. Queen Elizabeth’s death and funeral in London on Monday, attended by many world leaders, created last-minute headaches for the high-level meeting. Diplomats and UN staff have struggled to cope with changes in travel plans, the timing of events and the logistically complex speech schedule for world leaders. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a meeting at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
