World leaders gather in New York next week for a UN General Assembly dominated by US 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,” UN 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 on Tuesday. “And international co-operation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes.”
Headlining this year’s 80th General Assembly will be Trump, who calls for slashing US funding for the UN, stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the UN cultural agency Unesco.
He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organisation.
Trump will speak on Tuesday, eight months into a second term marked by severe US foreign aid cuts that have sparked global humanitarian chaos and raised questions about the UN’s future, prompting Guterres to try to cut costs and improve efficiency.
“He enjoys the General Assembly. He enjoys the attention of other leaders,” International Crisis Group UN director Richard Gowan said of Trump. “My suspicion is he is going to be using his appearance to boast about his many achievements and perhaps once again, make the case he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”
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