War to dominate UN General Assembly agenda

World leaders will descend on the United Nations in the coming days to discuss a long list of global challenges. But will they inspire meaningful action on any of them?

“We are seeing outrageous geopolitical divisions and spiraling conflicts, not least in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and beyond,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters at a news conference ahead of the annual meetings of the UN General Assembly.

These three wars will dominate the agenda, both in the leaders’ speeches at the meeting and at numerous side meetings.

Gaza

A ceasefire in Gaza is even more urgent now that Israel has turned its attention to its northern border with Lebanon and appears determined to deliver a major blow to Hezbollah militants there.

“We are at the beginning of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance on our part,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told soldiers at the northern Ramat David Airbase on Wednesday. “It is crucial that we work closely with the (security) organizations, at all levels.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the General Assembly.

“President Abbas will focus on the plight of his people. He will focus on the campaign of genocide that is going on, he will warn of the danger of this conflict exploding in the West Bank, and he will also warn of the dangers if this conflict does not come to a ceasefire soon, in terms of the consequences for the region and the stability in the region,” Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told VOA.

In March, a UN official said there were substantial grounds to believe that genocide had taken place in Gaza.

Slim continued: “On the other hand, you will see the Israeli prime minister reminding people of the terror of October 7, and shedding light on the fact that they are engaged in a defensive war. He will reemphasize the priorities of the war… namely the eradication of Hamas.”

In March, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Ukraine

More than 2½ years after Russia invaded Ukraine, peace is still a long way off.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will appeal in New York for international support at a critical moment in the war, when the conflict in many capitals has already been overshadowed by the situation in Gaza.

“I think Ukrainian diplomats themselves are a little concerned that their war is going to be on the agenda,” Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, told VOA. “But the reality is that the fight between Israel and Hamas has torn the UN apart over the past year, and that’s going to be the main focus for many presidents and prime ministers.”

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy will address a high-level UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, and the next day he will speak at the General Assembly.

“I think he will emphasize the problem of Russian aggression, and that not only Europe but the rest of the world needs to remain wary of Russia’s attempt to assert its imperial power,” William Pomeranz, a senior fellow at the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, told VOA. “And that Ukraine’s support is a critical component of global security at this time.”

On Thursday, Zelenskyy will travel to Washington to meet President Joe Biden at the White House.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be coming to New York, but veteran Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to address the General Assembly on September 28.

Sudan

On the African continent, two rival generals in Sudan have been locked in a brutal 17-month power struggle that has devastated the country. Violence, famine and disease have ravaged the population and 10 million people have fled their homes in search of safety.

The current epicentre of the war is El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have advanced on the city and the Sudanese forces in El Fasher are trying to push them back.

“The lives of hundreds of thousands of people, including more than 700,000 displaced people in and around El Fasher, are under immediate threat,” Joye Msuya, the UN’s acting humanitarian chief, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and others have been pursuing various peace initiatives for months. They have failed to silence the guns, but the US has succeeded in opening new routes for humanitarian aid to Sudan.

On September 25, ministers will meet to discuss the humanitarian response at a meeting hosted by officials from the UN, US, European Union, African Union, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The head of the Sudanese armed forces and chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, is coming to New York. UN chief Guterres said he would express to him “my enormous frustration” over the lack of a ceasefire and the start of a serious political process.

Haiti

While it may not receive as much international attention as Ukraine and Gaza, there is a lot of international solidarity to help Haiti recover from its latest period of insecurity.

The UN independent expert on the human rights situation in Haiti concluded a visit to the country on Friday and told a news conference that human rights violations are widespread.

“Sexual violence, used as a weapon by gangs to control the population, has increased dramatically in recent months,” said William O’Neill. “Gangs have increasingly trafficked children, forcibly recruited them into gangs and often used them to carry out attacks on public institutions and police operations.”

Nearly a year ago, a multinational security assistance mission was approved by the UN Security Council to help the Haitian national police crack down on criminal gangs terrorizing the capital and other regions. After many delays, the first international police contingent from Kenya was deployed in June.

There are now about 500 police officers on the ground in total — 400 from Kenya, the mission leader, and the rest from Jamaica and Belize. Diplomats say they expect other countries to be deployed as well.

Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau will co-chair a meeting on Monday to discuss both the urgent humanitarian situation and long-term development challenges.

“I think we’re all beginning to understand how drastic the damage is in Haiti and how devastating the current gang attacks have proven to be,” Canadian Ambassador Bob Rae told VOA. “We’re doing everything we can to mobilize international attention to what we can do to turn the tide.”

Hello and goodbye

This year’s meeting will see the debut of several new leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“I am curious about any signal he gives about resuming nuclear negotiations,” Slim of MEI said of the Iranian leader, noting that his government has indicated interest in resuming nuclear negotiations.

This is the last time Biden will take the stage at the General Assembly.

“I think his appearance will have mixed feelings among other leaders,” said Crisis Group’s Gowan. “I think there is still some respect for his commitment to multilateralism, but there is also a lot of regret that he did not give the UN a greater role in dealing with the war in Gaza.”

Looking to the future

Two years ago, Biden announced that the United States supports expanding the number of permanent members of the Security Council, which consists of fifteen countries.

On September 12, his UN envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced that the administration would support two permanent seats for Africa and one each for Latin American and Caribbean countries, along with India, Japan and Germany — albeit without veto power. She said Washington was ready to begin textual negotiations on the expansion.

“This means that we are prepared to work with other countries to negotiate the text, prepare amendments and get this resolution ready for a vote in the General Assembly and ultimately amend the UN Charter,” Thomas-Greenfield told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York last week.

Security Council reform, as it is called, has been a topic of much discussion but no action for decades. UN chief Guterres would also like to see the council change. On Sunday, he opens his landmark two-day “Summit of the Future,” with institutional reform high on the agenda.

“And one of the questions that is important regarding the future is precisely about the role of the P5 (the five permanent members) and the need for some redistribution of power to make things fairer and more effective,” Guterres told reporters.

In the seventh year of his 10-year term, Guterres wants to see greater multilateral cooperation to resolve current conflicts, combat climate change and alleviate global hunger and debt. He is also concerned about emerging challenges, including the power of artificial intelligence.

He hopes a strong “Pact for the Future” will be adopted by consensus on Sunday. The document, a policy blueprint to address global challenges and sweeping reforms of the UN and global financial institutions, is embroiled in difficult negotiations.

Germany and Namibia have been facilitating the negotiations for months and their leaders will co-chair the summit. General Assembly President Philemon Yang has now taken over the negotiations to try to get it over the finish line.

Diplomats said 19 countries, including Russia, objected Thursday night to language in the final draft, including on human rights, climate action and fossil fuels. With less than 48 hours to go before the summit begins, the discussions are reaching breaking point.

“We very much hope that in the coming hours, Member States will agree on the way forward for the Summit of the Future, that they will show ambition and courage and do everything they can to get these documents across the finish line,” Guterres’ spokesman said.