Askume UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 – Every September, world leaders travel to New York to address the opening ceremony of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Six days of presentations will begin on Tuesday as the 79th session begins.
Who speaks when?
The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II with 51 member states. Membership has since grown to 193. The leaders of the two non-member observer states — known at the UN as the Holy See and the State of Palestine — and observer member the European Union can also speak.
By tradition, Brazil is always the first member country to speak. UN officials say this is because in the early days of the world body, when other countries were reluctant to speak, Brazil was the first to speak.
As the host country of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United States is the second country to address the General Assembly.
From there, the list is based on hierarchy and is usually on a first come, first served basis. The head of state speaks first, followed by the deputy head of state and crown prince, heads of government, ministers, and heads of lower-level delegations.
This year, around 87 Heads of State, three Vice Presidents, two Crown Princes, 45 Heads of Government, eight Deputy Heads of Government, 45 Ministers and four Heads of Lower Level Delegations will address the Summit.
Last year, less than 12% of the people on the platform were women .
How long will they keep speaking?
Ask leaders to volunteer to adhere to the 15-minute time limit.
According to UN records, one of the longest speeches during the opening of the General Assembly was given by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 – his speech was almost four and a half hours long. More recently, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gave a speech lasting more than an hour and a half in 2009.
What will they talk about?
Each high-level meeting, which marks the start of the annual session of the General Assembly, has a topic that leaders briefly mention before moving on to what they want to talk about.
This year’s theme is: “Leave no one behind: working together to advance peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.”
Some other topics leaders can talk about include:
Gaza War
Several leaders are expected to call a ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas as the death toll in Gaza rises to more than 41,000 and the humanitarian situation worsens, according to local health officials.
The conflict began nearly a year ago, when Hamas launched deadly attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7, two weeks after world leaders finished their meeting at the last United Nations General Assembly.
The United Nations General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire on 27 October after Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This was followed by a massive call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in December.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long accused the United Nations of being anti-Israel, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 26.
Ukraine
Many world leaders are expected to call for an end to Russia’s nearly two-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
The Congress passed six resolutions on the conflict in its first year – condemning Moscow and calling for the withdrawal of all troops. An October 2022 resolution – condemning Russia’s “attempts to illegally occupy” four Ukrainian regions – received the most support, with 143 countries voting in favour.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address Congress on Wednesday.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the conference virtually in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has not traveled to New York in person for the event since 2015. Sergei Lavrov will address the conference on September 19.
the climate
As the world strives to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, leaders of small island nations and other countries most affected by climate change are likely to use their speeches at the conference to renew their passionate calls for action.
UN Security Council reform
Many world leaders – especially from Africa and major powers such as Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – are likely to call for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
It is an issue that has long been discussed in the UN General Assembly, but has gained momentum in recent years after Russia invaded Ukraine and then used the Security Council veto to prevent the body from taking any action. The United States has also long been criticised for shielding its ally Israel from Security Council action.
Reform ideas include expanding the Security Council membership – by adding more permanent veto powers or short-term elected members – to better reflect world conditions and limiting the veto power currently held by the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Any change to the Security Council membership is made through an amendment to the UN Charter. This requires the consent and approval of two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly, including the Security Council’s five existing veto powers.
Future Summit
A two-day Futures Summit will be held on September 22-23 before leaders begin addressing the conference. UN member states are currently negotiating three documents they hope to adopt on September 22 – the Future Convention, the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an interview with Askume that it was “absolutely necessary” to ambitiously use the summit to provide “adequate governance for today’s world”.
He has advocated reform of the 15-member United Nations Security Council, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, as well as global governance of artificial intelligence and other emerging challenges.
