Devex Newswire: What to expect, and not expect, at the UN General Assembly

Nearly 200 world leaders are set to take the stage at the U.N. General Assembly later this month. Could a future U.S. president be among them?

Also in today’s edition: What can we glean from a new website outlining U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy prescriptions?

+ Join us from Sept. 24 to 26 in New York City and online on the sidelines of UNGA 79, Climate Week, and the Summit of the Future for a series of live interviews, networking moments, and conversations. Save your spot now.

Campaign stop

If you live in an election battleground state in the U.S. — think Arizona, Ohio, or Michigan — you’ll be hard-pressed not to bump into Kamala Harris and Donald Trump over the next 55 days. The presidential contenders will be campaigning hard in the swing states that will determine the outcome in November. Pity the people in those states, whose airwaves and phones will be inundated with political ads and robocalls.

But can heads of state and international delegates attending the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York expect Harris or Trump to take time out of their busy glad-handing schedules and show up — especially Harris, given her recent surge in the polls?

“There does seem to be a suggestion that she might appear at some time during the General Assembly, maybe at the summit,” Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said at a recent Devex Pro event on UNGA 79 and the Summit of the Future.

“And obviously that would probably raise the media profile of the Summit for the Future by about 5,000%,” he added.

But others caution not to count on a Kamala bump. “There are no current plans for the VP to travel to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly,” one source familiar with the vice president's planning told my colleague Colum Lynch, who moderated the Devex event.

Gowan said he doesn’t expect an appearance from Trump but noted that the former U.S. president will cast a long shadow over the proceedings.  

“The U.S. election is a big elephant in the room,” he said, recalling Trump’s withdrawal from several U.N. institutions and international agreements. “There are real concerns that will happen again” if he wins, Gowan said.

So what can we expect at UNGA, besides the spectacle of 193 world leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors rattling off pre-written speeches at the podium? Plenty — whether it’s U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ “swan song,” or any of the 60 action plans dealing with everything from poverty eradication to international financial reform. For a complete breakdown, check out Colum’s discussion.

Read: UN Future Summit could use a Kamala bump (Pro)

Related: How to survive UNGA (Pro)

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Swimming with turtles

So, you want to be part of the U.N. crowd and witness the pageantry of diplomacy in Turtle Bay? First lesson if you don’t already know it: Turtle Bay is the New York neighborhood that’s home to the U.N. headquarters.

Second lesson: There’s a lot to know about securing a job with the U.N. — which is why we put together a guide featuring recruiter insights from top U.N. agencies, including UNICEF, UNEP, and UN Women, to help you figure out what to do before applying to a U.N. role, along with top mistakes to avoid. 

Among the nuggets you’ll learn:

• How to make it past the U.N. screening process.

• What kinds of experiences help you stand out.

• Which soft skills matter — and how to demonstrate them.

• How a U.N. job description should guide your application.

Download your copy: Do’s and don’ts of applying to the UN (Career)

+ A Devex Career Account membership includes all the valuable tools you need to be successful in your globaldev job hunt. Sign up today and start your 15-day free trial.

Vague promises

For foreign diplomats, U.N. or otherwise, part of the Harris intrigue is not just that she’d be the anti-Trump on multilateralism. It’s also about trying to get a read on her foreign policy priorities. In a way, she’s a known entity — she is the vice president, after all — and many expect some form of continuation of U.S. President Joe Biden’s agenda. But in other ways, she’s a bit of a black box when it comes to specifics.

So the recent posting of her policy positions on her website, breaking down how she’d approach the economy, immigration, and foreign policy, is sure to garner attention, although the anodyne messaging doesn’t reveal much we didn’t already know.

The policy package includes a nebulous ambition to “strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership,” a thinly veiled rebuttal to the America First isolationism of Donald Trump. It also speaks of Harris’ experience in the Biden administration, citing her travels to 21 countries and meetings with 150 world leaders.

To continue that trend, the policy package says Harris will “stand with” U.S. allies, “stand up to dictators,” and “lead on the world stage” — shocking proposals indeed — while also vowing to take “whatever action is necessary” to protect U.S. forces and interests from Iran. The proposals also note Harris’ defense of Israel’s right to defend itself, while also pushing for an end to the war in Gaza so that “the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”

In an attempt to brighten the line between her policies and those of Trump, she draws from Project 2025, a collection of right-wing proposals published by those in Trump’s orbit. Though the former president has tried to distance himself from the 922-page document, many Democrats see Project 2025 as a blueprint for a second Trump presidency. On Harris’ campaign website, the comparisons are scathing.

“Top American military generals and national security officials — including those who worked for Trump — have warned that he is “dangerous” and “unfit” to lead, and now he is surrounded by ultra-loyalists who enable his worst impulses,” the website states.

ICYMI: Where is Kamala Harris on US foreign aid? (Pro)

Missing in action

The Summit of the Future — a two-day event preceding the high-level meetings of UNGA — is supposed to culminate in the adoption of a Pact for the Future, a blueprint for the future of international cooperation.

It’s a moment to revive the flagging U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, former Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf writes in an opinion piece for Devex. writes in an opinion piece for Devex. But she warns that moment won’t mean much if a key constituency is absent: women and girls.

“The so-called zero draft, circulated at the beginning of this year, was rightly criticized for the lack of focus on women and girls. Given that progress on SDG 5 (gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls) is behind, this is a cause for concern,” she writes, making the case for why gender equality — and half the planet — should be embedded into every action item in the pact.

Opinion: For the Pact for the Future to succeed, include women and girls

Friendly advice

Janez Lenarčič, the outgoing chief of the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department, said he wanted to avoid giving lessons to his successor. Then he did it anyway, writes my colleague Vince Chadwick.

So what pearls of wisdom did he have to impart? Don’t go nuts using development funds on infrastructure projects and thereby risk Europe’s support for basic services such as health and education around the world.

“I don’t have a problem with infrastructure projects,” said the Slovenian, whose five-year term as commissioner for crisis management ends this year. “But they should not come at the expense of assistance to people to get on their own feet, get their livelihoods, and no longer depend on humanitarian aid.”

Read: EU aid boss takes aim at infrastructure-driven development

+ Last chance to take our quiz on August’s most-read globaldev stories. See how well you stack up.

In other news

The Afghan embassy in London is being shut down following its disavowal by the Taliban government, leaving the fate of embassy personnel uncertain. [AP]

Latin America remains the most dangerous region for environmental and land defenders, according to watchdog Global Witness. [France 24]

Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa have proposed to the International Criminal Court that “ecocide” be recognized as a crime on par with genocide and war crimes, potentially revolutionizing global responses to environmental destruction. [The Guardian]

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