Washington and Brazil
This Tuesday (19th) begins the most important global political stage, marked more by his absence than by his presence and which is intended, above all, to discuss the failure to achieve the goals he set eight years ago.
The highlevel debate of the United Nations General Assembly, as the week in which global leaders meet at the organization’s headquarters in New York (USA) is called, takes place this year after the meetings of the G7, the BRICS countries , the G20, the ASEAN and G77, to name just a few other relevant ones.
These multilateral forums are not new, but they have become more important with the transformation of the global geopolitical body, driven by the shocks of recent years such as the pandemic, the Ukraine war and the rise of Asia.
The main advantage is that these spaces are able to bring together countries with a common basis, allowing concrete agreements although limited, but more than what the United Nations, with its 193 members, has been able to achieve so far.
“Forum shopping has always existed. “There was always the feeling that if you didn’t get what you wanted from the United Nations, you would go somewhere else,” says Joseph Majkut of the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington. “What’s different now is that these alternative clusters that are emerging are stronger and more dynamic, and more of them are led by U.S. competitors, particularly China.”
In a sign of the lack of interest in the meeting, this year only one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the most powerful body in the United Nations system, will be represented by its president American Joe Biden, host of the event.
The Russian Vladimir Putin has not taken part for years and has to be represented by Chancellor Sergei Lavrov. China’s Xi Jinping, who also normally sends his diplomatic chief, decided this year to send a vice president to represent him, a practically decorative position.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has drawn closer to China and the antagonism between the two countries and the United States and its allies has deepened. However, even Western powers decided to reject the event this year.
Frenchman Emmanuel Macron claimed a scheduling conflict because he was not present. Next week he will host King Charles III, British Labor Party leader Keir Starmer and Pope Francis.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will not be part of the delegation from his island in the Gallic countries, but he will not travel to the United States either. This would be Rishi Sunak’s UN debut, but he will remain in his country amid growing domestic problems.
“I think we would all like to see them here, but that will not change the intensity of the discussions we will have,” said American Ambassador to the UN Linda ThomasGreenfield when asked about the absences at a recent event became Friday.
In addition to the members with veto power in the Security Council, India’s Narendra Modi, who not only took part in the BRICS meeting but also hosted the G20 summit in his country, is not traveling to New York.
In this context, the big stars of the UN this year are likely to be the American President, the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Ukrainian Volodimir Zelensky.
In his speech, the PT member should reiterate Itamaraty’s historic call for a reform of the international governance system that leads to greater representation from the Global South an appeal that is likely to find far more support than before.
The criticism is not ignored by the United Nations. Last Wednesday, SecretaryGeneral António Guterres said the meeting comes at a time when humanity is facing “enormous challenges” and people are looking to their leaders to find a “way out of this mess.”
“And yet, in the face of all this, geopolitical divisions are undermining our ability to respond. A multipolar world is emerging. Multipolarity can be a balancing factor. But it can also lead to increased tensions, fragmentation and worse,” he said. to journalists.
“To unify our multipolar world, we need strong, reformed multilateral institutions enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international law. The current multilateral institutions created after World War II reflect the power and economic dynamism of that time, therefore they must be reformed,” he added.
The issue is likely to be one of the main topics in Guterres’ speech on Tuesday.
For Majkut, the UN must prove itself necessary and think about how it can change to achieve this goal. In this sense, Biden’s speech and the extent to which he will address these changes will be a crucial point.
“The United Nations is still the heart of the multilateral and rightsbased order, but there is still the impression, particularly from the Security Council, that it is no longer fully fulfilling its purpose,” said the Estonian UN ambassador. Rein Tammsaar, to Foreign Affairs magazine.
The discussion about reforming the system is taking place in parallel with a comprehensive assessment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a list of 17 environmental, social and economic goals adopted in 2015 and intended to be achieved by 2030.
At halftime, only 15% of these goals are at a pace that allows them to be achieved on time. The others are either lagging behind or have even regressed given the impact of Covid on global social and economic indicators.
To reverse this situation, Guterres has already stated that he wants to pressure states to increase the resources allocated to the program. One way to achieve this is to increase transfers to financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to finance projects that contribute to the SDGs.
Another important topic of the meeting will be the war in Ukraine, with Zelenskyy being present in New York. Guterres has already stated that he will meet with the Ukrainian, the Russian Lavrov and the Turkish Recep Erdogan. Attempting to bring Russia back into the Black Sea grain export agreement should be high on the agenda.
The climate crisis is also expected to dominate much of the debate inside and outside the UN with a major protest against fossil fuel use expected on Sunday. A meeting called “Climate Ambitions” called by Guterres will take place on Wednesday, with the stated aim of accelerating action by countries, businesses and civil society to combat global warming.
HOW THE MEETING OF WORLD LEADERS WORKS
What is the General Assembly?
It is one of the six bodies of the United Nations and functions as a world congress. Each member state there are 193 has the right to one vote, but its decisionmaking power is quite limited, as the most important issues are resolved in the Security Council.
What is she doing then?
One of its main tasks is to approve the annual budget of the United Nations. This is one of the few issues where the Assembly has decisionmaking power and does not depend on other bodies. It is also up to her to approve the appointment of the Secretary General and the countries that will occupy the rotating seats on the Security Council. However, the names are usually negotiated in advance and only ratified by the plenary session of the assembly.
What is the highlevel general debate?
It is the week when world leaders meet in New York, which usually takes place in September. The event allows any country To for a speech, which this year is limited to 15 minutes, although it is common to go beyond that. In parallel to the general debate, other events and bilateral meetings will take place.
What are the main topics of the meeting this year?
The discussion about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 goals that were defined by countries in 2015 and are to be achieved by 2030, but from which the world is still very far away. This includes, for example, environmental protection, poverty reduction and gender equality. UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres wants to encourage countries to invest more money in the cause. Another major issue should be combating the consequences of the pandemic, such as the increase in hunger and the war in Ukraine.
What is the Security Council doing?
Its role is to decide on issues of war and peace in the world, such as imposing sanctions on countries and authorizing interventions. The body consists of 15 members, 10 rotating and 5 fixed, with veto rights: USA, France, United Kingdom, Russia and China. Unlike the Assembly, the Council has the power to make binding decisions that cannot be ignored by the states.
Only the presidents and prime ministers of each country vote?
No. Heads of state and government only travel to New York, where the UN headquarters are located, for the annual opening of the General Assembly. This session lasts a week and consists of a series of speeches. When leaders return to their countries, each state represents the permanent mission to the United Nations, which is commanded by an ambassador and made up of dozens of diplomats and advisers.
Which leaders shouldn’t participate this year?
The Russian Vladimir Putin (last participant in 2015), the Chinese Xi Jinping, the Indian Narendra Modi, the French Emmanuel Macron, the British Rishi Sunak and the Filipino Ferdinand Marcos are not on the list.
Why is Brazil giving the opening speech?
Although this is not a rite provided for in any legal system, Brazil has opened the General Assembly since 1947, when Oswaldo Aranha, then head of the country’s delegation, presided over the first special session. This year, the creation of the State of Israel was approved with a positive vote from Brazil.
How is the order of speeches determined?
After Brazil, the USA always speaks as host. According to the two countries, the order is determined according to a complex system that takes into account, among other things, the weight of the delegations and the timing of registration.