For an organization devoted to promoting global peace, the discourse surrounding warfare is surprisingly prevalent. Much of the discussions were anticipated, especially as the annual UN General Assembly in New York commenced amidst the turmoil in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan.
However, what may have come as a surprise when global leaders convened for the opening session on Tuesday was the rapid escalation of conflicts by week’s end.
A new clash erupted in the Middle East, this time pitting Israel against Lebanon.
In the midst of these tensions, China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, marking its first such action in four decades.
World leaders criticize the global situation at the General Assembly
Gloomy general debate
The General Assembly’s discussions trudged on. Leader after leader ascended the podium to lament the dire state of global affairs.
“Our world is in turmoil,” lamented Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening statements.
“We are on the brink of the unimaginable – a powder keg that threatens to engulf us all,” he added.
The next speaker, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took the baton of despair and ran with it.
“We are experiencing a time of escalating anguish, frustration, tension, and fear,” he conveyed to the delegates.
US President Joe Biden attempted to uplift the atmosphere with his final address to the UN.
“I understand that many observe today’s world and respond with despair, but I refuse to do so,” he asserted to fellow leaders.
“Perhaps due to all I’ve witnessed and our collective accomplishments over the years, I remain hopeful,” he stated.
Yet, as the veteran statesman departed the UN stage for the last time, one couldn’t help but wonder if hope departed with him.
Escalating tensions, frustrated delegates
As conflicts intensified, the ineffectiveness of the UN was once again highlighted, prompting some delegates to question the value of their journey to New York.
“The institutions, norms, and mechanisms established to end wars – many initially supported by a powerful West – are increasingly ineffective,” stated Dareen Khalifa, a senior adviser with the Crisis Group.
“The United Nations has largely stagnated when it comes to addressing major global crises,” she remarked.
There was little evidence of multilateral collaboration as world leaders continued to threaten one another and exchange barbs from the podium.
Ukraine seeks attention at the UN amidst escalating Middle Eastern conflict
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized China and Brazil for proposing “half-hearted settlement plans” aimed at enhancing their own influence at Ukraine’s expense.
He also dismissed the UN Security Council as a relevant platform for conflict resolution, inviting member states to his own peace summit instead, where he promised there would be no veto.
Mr. Putin – who was not in New York but in Moscow – responded to Mr. Zelensky’s call for the use of long-range missiles provided by the US and European nations against targets within Russia with another nuclear war threat.
However, Mr. Zelensky fought for attention as the crisis in the Middle East dominated the agenda.
In his General Assembly address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan targeted Israel’s leader Benyamin Netanyahu, comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Other leaders also condemned Israel’s conduct in Gaza and Lebanon.
Yet, when Israel’s prime minister finally addressed the UN General Assembly stage on Friday after initially delaying his visit, he adopted a defiant stance, squashing any hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict in Lebanon.
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A stream of delegates left the hall as soon as Mr. Netanyahu began speaking.
“We will persist in degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are achieved,” he stated, asserting that they must choose between a blessing or a curse – Israel or Iran – in the Middle East.
Addressing Iran – whom he noted had an empty chair in the General Assembly Hall – he declared: “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will respond in kind.”
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and this holds true for the entire Middle East,” he declared.
He proceeded to criticize the UN, calling it “a swamp of antisemitic vitriol” and a “house of darkness.”
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi later urged reporters that Netanyahu must be stopped, calling on the UN Security Council to “fulfill its responsibilities” and uphold international law.
Otherwise, he warned, “war will engulf us all.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu addresses the UN General Assembly
Escalation in the Middle East
The Israeli military bombed portions of Beirut while Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel.
In an attempt to de-escalate, France convened an emergency UN Security Council meeting, and shortly thereafter, co-sponsored a 21-day ceasefire proposal for Israel and Hezbollah alongside the US.
However, Israeli officials promptly dismissed the proposal. Mr. Netanyahu asserted that the military would engage with “full force” in Lebanon.
Fearing a repeat of the situation in Gaza, despair permeated among UN officials on the ground.
“We are witnessing the most lethal period in Lebanon in a generation, and many fear this is merely the beginning,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s top aid official in Lebanon.
The UN’s refugee agency reported that tens of thousands were fleeing into Syria.
“We appeal not only for an end to the bombings in general but also to avoid targeting those trying to flee,” stated Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR Representative in Syria, at the Syria-Lebanon border.
As Israel continued its offensive in Lebanon, attention shifted to Hezbollah’s ally, Iran, to gauge its next move.
Tehran aims to steer clear of direct involvement in a regional conflict that could pit it against the United States, according to Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, a think tank.
“It is more likely that they will engage with Israel through their proxies,” he explained to RTÉ News.
However, Tehran is “walking a tightrope,” Vatanka mentioned, warning that “this Iranian restraint cannot last indefinitely if Israel maintains its offensive, which could very well be Israel’s strategy.”
World leaders fear regional war
Sudan’s bitter conflict
As the situation worsened in Lebanon, ministers gathered to discuss another devastating crisis in Sudan.
This side event occurred amid reports of a siege on the western city of El Fasher and renewed violence in the capital, Khartoum.
“From bitter past experience, if El Fasher falls, there is a significant danger of ethnically targeted violations and abuses, including summary executions and sexual violence, perpetrated by the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and allied militia,” warned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
The American Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, informed ministers at the meeting that civilians in Sudan “are experiencing famine, with some resorting to eating leaves and dirt to stave off hunger pains, though not starvation.”
Yet again, the international community’s inaction loomed large.
“I feel, as I’m sure you all do, a sense of shame and embarrassment that this is happening under our watch,” she remarked.
Still, humanitarian efforts continue to struggle for resources.
According to UN data, the $2.7 billion appeal to assist 14.7 million people within Sudan is less than half funded, while a $1.5 billion appeal for 3.3 million Sudanese refugees in seven neighboring countries has garnered just a quarter of the needed funding.
As the week came to a close, a somber mood pervaded UN headquarters.
“This General Assembly has been a notably serious and intense one,” Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, conveyed to RTÉ News.
“He remains gravely concerned about the developments taking place in Beirut, in Gaza, and in Sudan, to name just a few,” he concluded.
