UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Welcome to the United Nations. Over the next week, leaders of several countries will take the marble dice that, despite being geographically located in the middle of Manhattan, belong to the world. It is part of the UN General Assembly’s General Debate, with a parade of speakers circling the iconic hall from Tuesday, September 19 to Tuesday, September 26.
At the United Nations and at the event, key topics will reflect the myriad global crises at hand: climate change, rising inequality, Russia’s war in Ukraine, public health and geopolitical instability, and others. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Monarchs and other high-level representatives gathered for the 78th session under the theme “Rebuilding Trust and Restoring Global Solidarity: Accelerating Implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Prosperity for All , are calling for growth and sustainability.”
Check back here for live updates from The Associated Press in and around the United Nations General Assembly, as leaders address and engage with colleagues, constituencies at home and around the world. A team of AP staff at the United Nations around New York and around the world are providing highlights, analysis and critical context in all formats.
How Biden’s Remarks Were Received
As US President Joe Biden pledged support for Ukraine, warning that “no country can be safe if we allow Ukraine to build”, there was applause in the General Assembly hall.
UN cameras showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy applauding as he sat in Ukraine’s seat at the General Assembly. He is scheduled to speak later today.
Biden sent a message to Beijing.
US President Joe Biden sought to ease tensions with China in his speech, even as the US seeks to strengthen ties with other countries to limit Beijing’s influence.
“None of these partnerships involve any country,” he said. “They are about a positive vision for our shared future.”
Addressing the relationship between the U.S. and China, Biden said, “We try to responsibly manage the competition between our two countries so that it does not lead to conflict.”
China has for decades been concerned about Cold War “containment policies” in which the United States tried to prevent the spread of communism. It remains a hot button issue between China and the US to this day.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is not attending the meeting of world leaders. Biden has talked about another meeting with them, but none has been scheduled yet.
Read more about Biden’s speech, from AP’s Amir Madani and Seung Min Kim.
Biden says the world must oppose Russia’s ‘bare aggression’
According to quotes released by the White House, President Joe Biden will tell the United Nations General Assembly that Russia “cannot be allowed to oppress Ukraine without consequence,” calling the war a war to protect the global order. happened
“We must counter this blatant aggression today to deter other aggressors tomorrow,” he said.
“This is why the United States, together with our allies and partners around the world, will stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity and their freedom,” Biden added.
The message is meant to resonate beyond Moscow. Biden is trying to get additional support for Ukraine from Congress, where Republicans control the House and are suspicious of continued aid.
And Washington is on guard against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, where competing territorial claims have fueled tensions in the region. Beijing also wants to reunite the mainland with the independent island of Taiwan, a goal that raises the possibility of another war.
What does the President of the General Assembly do?
Meet Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Francis hails from Trinidad and Tobago and is the longest-serving UN ambassador to the Caribbean country. He will replace Kasaba Krosi of Hungary.
The President of the General Assembly is elected by the body for a one-year term, and has to set a theme. Francis has chosen “Peace, Prosperity, Development and Sustainability” for his session, and for this week “Rebuilding Trust and Restoring Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.” To do peace, prosperity, development and sustainability for all”.
Guterres on the Libyan floods
The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, began his speech on the devastation of the floods in Libya.
“Just nine days ago, many of the world’s challenges came together in a terrifying hellscape,” he said. “Thousands of people lost their lives in epic, unprecedented flooding in Derna, Libya. They have been victims many times over, victims of years of conflict, victims of climate chaos, victims of leaders near and far who sought peace. Unable to find a way out, the people of Darna lived and died in the center of this indifference.
Read more about Guterres’ speech from AP’s Edith M. Lederer.
‘Compromise,’ says UN Secretary-General.
“Amidst all these challenges and more, compromise has become a dirty word. Our world needs statesmanship, not gamesmanship and gridlock. As I told the G20, this is a global compromise. Time. Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise. Leaders have a special responsibility to compromise in building a shared future of peace and prosperity for our common good.
– Secretary General Antonio Guterres
What is happening in the United Nations today?
– Important speeches are expected: Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, US President Joe Biden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. You can find the latest schedule here.
– In particular, note how Lula – who kicks off a string of world leaders’ speeches – seeks to position Brazil as a leader of the Global South and counter the dominance of China and the United States. Will, AP’s Brazil News Director, David Buller, report from the United Nations.
– Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Lula – and Biden are scheduled to speak just a few spots later. A few days earlier, Lula and Díaz-Canel rekindled ties between the countries at the G77 summit in Havana, lamenting the US embargo on the former Cuba.
– Prince William is also in town. When he is not addressing the General Assembly, he will attend the second EarthShot Prize Innovation Summit.
What did you miss at the United Nations on Monday?
While the general debate had yet to begin, there was plenty of action in and around the United Nations on Monday.
– It marked the start of a two-day summit aimed at encouraging world leaders to reach the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world leaders in 2015, AP chief UN correspondent Edith M. Lederer reports. What did Programming surrounding the meeting included appearances by celebrities such as Senegalese musician Baba Maal and actors Natalie Portman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
– Meeting with media executives on the sidelines of the General Assembly – including the AP’s Paul Haven, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi denied that his country had sent drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. Sent: “We are against the war in Ukraine,” he said. Raisi is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Tuesday, a day after five Americans held in Iranian custody arrived in Qatar, freed under a deal in which President Joe Biden locked up about $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Agreed to open.
— As Climate Week kicked off in New York, the World Health Organization and leaders of the upcoming COP28 climate talks announced that, in December, they will dedicate a day to public health for the first time, AP Science writer Seth Borenstein reports. What did
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a hospital in his New York City bureau on Staten Island, where he proposed that the United Nations – which he called a “retired superhero” in 2021 – be his country’s The attacker needs to respond to allowing a seat. Power Tables, AP’s Jennifer Peltz reports.
