UN General Assembly 2023: Climate crisis, Ukraine war lead the agenda

The 193-member UN General Assembly debates matters of human rights, international law and cooperation in various fields

The 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), which is the largest annual gathering of the world leaders will take place in New York this week. With over 140 leaders attending the meeting from across the world, the focus will be on key issues such as climate crisis and Ukraine war.  The high-level General Debate, which begins on Tuesday following two weeks of meetings.

Role of UN General Assembly

The 193-member UN General Assembly debates matters of human rights, international law and cooperation in various fields. It can pass resolutions and declarations to set out the guiding principles of the organisation. According to the UN Charter, the body can also address matters of international peace and security not currently being addressed by the UN Security Council (UNSC).

 What is General Debate?

The General Debate is an opportunity for heads of states to come together at the UN headquarters and discuss world issues. The theme for this year's General Debate will be “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.” According to ABC News, each speech alone offers a rich text and the delivery adds subtext. Speeches can be fonts of evocative language, barbs and gauzily veiled messages. They're supposed to run for 15 minutes, but many miss that mark. Last year, speeches averaged around 19 minutes.

Who will attend?

Heads of states and governments from at least 145 countries are expected to take the dais. Among them will be Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr. This will be Zelenskyy's first in-person appearance at the United Nations since the Russian invasion of his country. India and Mexico are slated to send their ministers too.

Who won’t be there?

The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, China and Russia will not attend. This would have been British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's first opportunity to address the General Assembly.