World leaders gather in New York, next week, for a U.N. General Assembly dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the rostrum, war in Gaza and Ukraine, rising Western recognition of Palestinian statehood and nuclear tensions with Iran.
“We are gathering in turbulent – even uncharted – waters,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a week before the 193-member world body hosts six days of speeches by nearly 150 heads of state or government along with dozens more ministers.
“Geopolitical divides widening. Conflicts raging. Impunity escalating. Our planet overheating,” he told reporters. “And international cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes.”
Headlining this year’s 80th General Assembly will be Trump, who calls for slashing U.S. funding for the U.N., stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.
He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Trump will speak on Tuesday, eight months into a second term marked by severe U.S. foreign aid cuts that have sparked global humanitarian chaos and raised questions about the U.N.’s future, prompting Guterres to try to cut costs and improve efficiency.
“The U.N. has very strong efforts in peace mediation … but we have no carrots and no sticks,” Guterres said.
The U.N. Security Council is the only U.N. body that can impose sanctions, but it has been deadlocked on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine because the U.S. and Russia are veto powers.
“The United States has carrots and sticks. So in some situations, if you are able to combine the two, I think we can have a very effective way to make sure that some peace process at least can lead to a successful result,” Guterres said.
He and Trump are expected to meet formally for the first time next week since Trump returned to office in January – one of more than 150 bilateral meetings the U.N. chief said he has scheduled, dubbing the week “the World Cup of diplomacy.”
Reuters/Jide Johnson.