The phalanx of dark SUVs. The lines of people snaking around the corner. The barricades. The honking. The side events. The sore feet. It has begun! Welcome to the agony and the ecstasy of the U.N. General Assembly. We’ve got the lowdown on whom you should brave gridlock and security lines to see.
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Also in today’s edition: U.N. diplomats wrangle over a major reform package until the eleventh hour. Speaking of which, that’s when the White House decided to release a development strategy.
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All eyes on me
There’s no shortage of people-watching at the U.N. General Assembly — or in New York City in general — from the environmental activists protesting across Manhattan to the heads of state trying to make their case at the dais of the General Assembly.
But certain people are particularly worth watching this year, and my colleague Colum Lynch came up with a handy-dandy list of them.
U.S. President Joe Biden may have made himself a lame duck by passing the torch to his vice president, Kamala Harris — harsh to say, but that’s the term for it in U.S. politics — but he still garners plenty of attention, especially among the U.N. crowd who appreciate his old-school multilateralism. Expect all eyes to be on his farewell address to the 193-member General Assembly.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his vision today at the Summit of the Future, and French President Emmanuel Macron makes his grand return after skipping last year’s event. Notable absences? China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who’s busy dodging an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
There in spirit: Harris isn’t on the speaker list, but she — and former U.S. President Donald Trump — are sure to be on everyone’s minds.
Also in the spotlight:
Keir Starmer: The new kid on the U.K. block is missing part of the summit for a Labour Party bash — which we’ll have coverage of as well, courtesy of Devex U.K. Correspondent Rob Merrick — but popping in to smooth out post-Brexit relationships.
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan: Sudan’s army chief is sure to use his U.N. speech to throw shade at his civil war rival, while glossing over his own wartime misdeeds.
Samantha Power: This is likely to be the USAID administrator’s final UNGA performance. Expect thoughts — diplomatically measured, of course — on everything from Sudan to Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu: He’s on wartime footing back home, but the Israeli prime minister will be on shakier ground at UNGA, where he’ll face questions over Gaza, as well as exploding pagers and walkie-talkies.
Javier Milei: Argentina’s chainsaw-loving libertarian president is already stirring the pot with bold moves and loud opinions.
Mia Mottley: Barbados’ prime minister is not only a powerhouse orator, but a front-runner to be the next U.N. secretary-general.
Want to see the other sights and sounds of UNGA? Check out our social media page on X. For a complete preview of the week’s high-level events — and the high-level diplomatic arm-wrestling over them — check out Colum’s essential UNGA primer.
Read: Who's who at the UN Future Summit and UNGA 79
Listen: What can we expect from UNGA 79 and the Summit of the Future?
+ We’ll have a team of reporters on the ground in New York all week — got a tip or tidbit you’d like to share? Email us at editor@devex.com.
Pact house
Another U.N. personality commandeered the floor over the weekend, threatening to sabotage a sweeping package of reforms at the U.N. Summit of the Future.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, backed by a handful of authoritarian allies such as Iran and Venezuela, tried to throw a last-minute wrench into negotiations over three declarations: the Pact for the Future, which covers everything from climate change to poverty; a Global Digital Compact that sets new guardrails on the digital world; and the Declaration for Future Generations, which aims to boost the role of the youth in national and international decision-making.
The Moscow-led bloc’s objections ran the gamut, Colum writes. They wanted to gut protections for human rights, references to gender equality and free expression, and calls for greater cooperation by civil society in U.N. activities.
But in the end, patience ran out with Russia’s obstructionism and supporters of the pact won the day.
Vershinin wasn’t thrilled. “Nobody is happy with this text,” the Russian claimed.
But apparently, enough U.N. members were happy enough to pass the pact.
“We must take the first decisive steps towards updating and reforming international cooperation to make it more networked, fair, and inclusive — now,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said after the reforms were passed. “And today, thanks to your efforts, we have,” he added to rousing — and probably relieved — applause.
Read: UN states call Russia's bluff, adopt Pact for the Future
ICYMI: UN Future Summit seeks to unite a fractured world
Eye-opening opinions
While Biden is sure to get his fair share of accolades at UNGA, he’s also sure to get a hefty dose of criticism, especially accusations of hypocrisy over his staunch support of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza — and his equally staunch denunciation of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Anger that the U.S. champions international rules only when it’s convenient is nothing new, although it’s been turbocharged by Gaza. But just how angry are people in the global south with the West’s perceived double standards?
A new study by the Munich Security Council sought to answer that question by asking citizens of nine populous countries whom they consider most guilty of violating universal values: Russia, China, Europe, or the U.S.?
The results do not make pretty reading for Washington. In four of the nine nations surveyed — Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — more people named the U.S. than the autocrats of Moscow and Beijing. And in five — adding Mexico to the list above — the U.S. was judged to show the least “respect” to other countries.
European countries fared better, my colleague Rob Merrick tells me, but are still viewed as worse rule-violators than China in Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
However, in no country did the respondents buy into the Chinese and Russian narrative that such international rules are a Western construct. Instead, they believe they “represent the values and needs of most countries in the world” — if only the West would follow them.
Tardy for the party
Better late than never I suppose? Biden just released a new global development strategy — about six weeks before the country votes on his successor. I’m not sure what that says about the value the White House places on development, since they’ve had four years to release what amounts to 20 pages (and if you know a thing or two about White House administrations, you’ll know they love releasing strategies.)
But experts tell my colleagues Michael Igoe and Elissa Miolene that the strategy is less an action plan than an appeal for continuity to build on the accomplishments of the last four years. It breaks down the administration’s approach to development into five pillars: sustainable economic growth and infrastructure; health, food security, and human capital; decarbonizing the economy and climate resilience; democracy, human rights, and governance; and humanitarian assistance.
While Biden has released other strategies over the years, this is the only one that focuses on global development more broadly.
“I think there was a clear opportunity missed here,” a senior USAID official says, noting that the pillars outlined in the document have been in place since the beginning of Biden’s administration, while a strategy could have better tied them together.
Read more: White House releases long-planned global development strategy (Pro)
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In other news
A U.N. health official stated that Burundi could end its mpox outbreak within weeks with nearly 600 cases reported, but success hinges on securing adequate resources and combating stigma around the disease. [Reuters]
The Asian Development Bank approved a $500 million loan to accelerate Indonesia's transition to clean energy sources. [ADB]
At the U.N. headquarters, acclaimed artist Refik Anadol’s AI-driven installation highlights the fragile beauty of coral reefs and the pressing need to tackle the climate crisis. [UN News]
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About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
