What is the UNGA and what will world leaders talk about?

Every September, world leaders travel to New York to address the start of the annual United Nations General Assembly session.

The six days of speeches to mark the beginning of the 79th session will start on 24 September.

Who speaks when?

When the United Nations was formed in 1945 following World War II, there were originally 51 members. That has since grown to 193 members. Leaders of two non-member observer states – known at the UN as the Holy See and the State of Palestine – and an observer member, the European Union, can also speak.

It is tradition for Brazil to always be the first member state to speak. This is because, in the early years of the world body, Brazil stepped up to speak first when other countries were reluctant to do so, say UN officials.

READ: UN likely to vote next week on push to end Israel presence in Palestinian Territory

As host to the UN headquarters in New York, the United States is the second country to address the General Assembly.

From there, the list is then based on hierarchy and generally a first come, first served basis. Heads of state speak first, followed by deputy heads of state and crown princes, heads of government, ministers and lower-ranked heads of a delegation.

This year, some 87 heads of state, three vice-presidents, two crown princes, 45 heads of government, eight deputy heads of government, 45 ministers and four lower-ranked heads of a delegation are currently due to address the General Assembly.

Last year, fewer than 12 per cent of those to stand at the lectern were women.

How long will they speak?

Leaders are asked to stick to a voluntary 15-minute time limit.

According to UN records, one of the longest speeches made during the opening of a General Assembly was by Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, in 1960 – he spoke for about four and a half hours. More recently, Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, spoke for more than one and a half hours in 2009.

What will they talk about?

Each high-level gathering to mark the start of the annual General Assembly session has a theme, which leaders tend to briefly reference before moving on to talking about whatever they want.

This year’s theme is: “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.”

Some other topics likely to be spoken about by leaders include:

The war in Gaza

With the civilian death toll in Gaza ballooning to more than 41,000 people according to local health officials and the humanitarian situation deteriorating, many leaders are expected to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestine.

READ: ‘Historic moment’ as Palestine takes permanent seat at UN

The conflict started nearly a year ago with the deadly Hamas attack on civilians in Israel on 7 October – two weeks after world leaders had finished meeting at the last UN General Assembly.

After Israel began retaliating against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the General Assembly, on 27 October, called for an immediate humanitarian truce. It then overwhelming demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in December.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who has long accused the UN of being anti-Israel – and Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abba,s are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on 26 September.

Ukraine

Many world leaders are likely to call for an end to Russia’s roughly two-and-a-half year war in Ukraine.

The General Assembly adopted six resolutions on the conflict in the first year – denouncing Moscow and demanding it withdraw all its troops. A resolution in October 2022 – condemning Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four regions in Ukraine – won the greatest support with 143 states voting yes.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is due to address the General Assembly on 25 September.

While Russian President, Vladimir Putin, virtually addressed the General Assembly in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has not physically travelled to New York for the event since 2015. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is instead due to speak to the General Assembly on 28 September.

Climate

As the world struggles to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, leaders of smaller island nations and other states most affected by climate changes are likely to use their speeches at the General Assembly to again make impassioned pleas for action.

UN Security Council reform

Many world leaders – particularly from Africa and key powers including Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – are likely to call for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security.

It is an issue that has long been discussed by the General Assembly, but has gathered steam in recent years after Russia invaded Ukraine and then used its Security Council veto to block any action by the body. The United States has also long been criticised for shielding its ally, Israel, from Council action.

READ: US use of veto at UN Security Council ‘disappointing, irresponsible,’ says Palestinian president

Reform ideas include expanding the Council’s membership – through adding more permanent veto powers or short-term elected members – to better reflect the world and limiting the veto, currently held by the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.

Any changes to the Security Council membership are done by amending the founding UN Charter. This needs the approval and ratification by two-thirds of the General Assembly, including the Security Council’s current five veto powers.

Summit of the future

Before the leaders begin addressing the General Assembly, a two-day Summit of the Future will be held on 22-23 September. UN member states are currently negotiating three documents they hope to adopt on 22 September – a pact for the future, a declaration on future generations and a global digital compact.

Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said it was “absolutely essential” to ambitiously use the Summit to come up with “adequate governance for the world of today”.

He argued for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and for global governance of artificial intelligence and other emerging challenges.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.