It was a busy week in New York as the city hosted the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30. Under the theme of “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations,” world leaders shared their thoughts and explored solutions to advance international peace and harmony.
The UNGA has 193 member states, two observer states (the Holy See and the State of Palestine) and 17 non-self-governing territories. It was created under the Charter of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 as the decision-making and representative body of the UN. It has equal representation of all member states and is responsible for budgeting, appointing the UN secretary-general and passing resolutions. It first convened in 1946 and has been holding annual regular sessions every September ever since. Its current president is Philémon Yang of Cameroon.
The general debate is one of the most important events of the UNGA’s regular session. During the debate, the member states speak about a chosen theme. By tradition, Brazil and the United States are the first two speakers. The rest of the order is decided by the level of representation, preference and other criteria, such as geographic balance. A total of 134 countries addressed the 79th session of the UNGA.
Many countries used the platform to criticize the actions of Israel in the Middle East. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of exploiting the Oct. 7 attacks to launch a “full-scale war of genocide” on the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel has made peace and will make peace again.”
“Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns … How long would the American government tolerate that? Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say: Enough is enough,” Netanyahu said in his speech, which saw walkouts by delegates.
While Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke about the importance of national sovereignty and reiterated China’s claim on Taiwan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov defended his country’s attacks in Ukraine and condemned what he called Western attempts at global domination and machinations in Ukraine.
In the last UN address of his term, President Joe Biden called for nations to unite against the wars in Europe and the Middle East and combat China’s growing global influence.
“I truly believe we’re at another inflection point in world history. The choices we make today will determine our future,” he said.
In the final minutes, he also expressed his apprehensions about artificial intelligence.
Along with the speeches, the countries also participated in the “Summit of the Future” to “address the critical challenges and gaps in global governance exposed by recent global shocks” and held plenary high-level meetings to combat the rising sea level, fight against the threat of Antimicrobial Resistance and achieve global nuclear disarmament. All these events align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals that aim to “end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.”
On the sidelines, multiple independent meetings also took place between world leaders and other distinguished personalities.
After WWII, the UN was formed in 1945 to maintain international peace and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights and uphold international law. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the UN with 15 members, including the five permanent members with veto powers. These permanent members include the U.S., the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France.