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Pandor leads South African delegation at UN debate
International Relations and Co-operation Minister, Naledi Pandor, is leading South Africa’s delegation to the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA77) which opens debate in New York City on Tuesday
President Cyril Ramaphosa was expected to lead his county’s contingent but a power crisis has forced him to return home to oversee an end to Stage 6 power load shedding exercise which power utility Eskom instituted at the weekend.
Pandor, leading a high-powered delegation which includes Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, will instead lead the week-long debate themed, “A Watershed Moment: Unlocking Transformative Solutions To Interlocking Challenges.” - APA
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German chancellor slams 'sham' Russian referenda in Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday denounced plans by Russian-backed forces to hold referenda in Ukraine, calling them a "sham" that must be rejected by the international community.
"It is very, very clear that these sham referenda cannot be accepted and are not covered by international law," Scholz told reporters as he attended the UN General Assembly. - AFP
Venezuela uses crimes against humanity to repress dissent: UN probe
Venezuela's intelligence agencies are committing crimes against humanity as part of a plan orchestrated at the highest level of government to repress dissent, UN experts said Tuesday.
A team tasked with probing alleged violations in Venezuela said it had uncovered how members of military and state intelligence services were part of a well-coordinated structure implementing a scheme to stifle opposition.
"This plan was orchestrated at the highest political level, led by President Nicolas Maduro and supported by other senior authorities," Marta Valinas, chair of the UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, told reporters. - AFP
We are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 20, 2022
The @UN Charter and the ideals it represents are in jeopardy.
We have a duty to act.
We need concerted action everywhere anchored in respect for international law and the protection of human rights. pic.twitter.com/GDwATq56rf
Russia's referendums 'won't change anything,' Ukraine's Kuleba says
Moscow's planned referendums seeking to annex additional territory in Ukraine will have no impact, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday after Russian-backed officials in some Ukrainian territories unfurled the requests.
“The Russians can do whatever they want. It will not change anything," Kuleba said in response to reporters' questions at the start of a meeting with US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. - Reuters
"I want to advance negotiations on Security Council reform: it is high time that the Council represents the world’s population more equally, and that it reflects 21st century realities.
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 20, 2022
This is a matter of credibility for our entire Organization and our multilateral order" pic.twitter.com/XxZI6nwFIx
Brazil's Bolsonaro calls for 'immediate cease fire' in Ukraine
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday called for an immediate cease fire in Ukraine, while criticizing sanctions against Russia over the invasion, as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Bolsonaro said Brazil does not see unilateral sanctions as the best way to handle the conflict, adding that a solution would only be reached through dialogue and negotiations. - Reuters
At UN, Blinken sees new Atlantic Ocean cooperation
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday will look to form a new community of Atlantic nations with another $100 million in initiatives to support the environment and maritime security, officials said.
In New York for the UN General Assembly, Blinken will meet jointly with counterparts from Angola, Brazil, Ghana, Portugal and Senegal as part of a new grouping of around 10 countries, a senior State Department official said.
"The United States hopes to work with Atlantic countries to develop a new framework for regular Atlantic cooperation, through which our countries can establish and carry out a shared approach to advancing our shared goals in the region," the official said on condition of anonymity. - AFP
"We know lofty ideals must be made real in people’s lives.
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 20, 2022
So let’s develop common solutions to common problems — grounded in goodwill, trust, and the rights shared by every human being.
Let’s work as one, as a coalition of the world, as United Nations"@antonioguterres pic.twitter.com/eIuXeH2Ks8
UN chief urges taxes on fossil fuels to fund climate, food price relief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged wealthy nations to tax fossil fuel companies and use the proceeds to compensate for damage from climate change and provide relief over rising prices.
"Let's tell it like it is -- our world is addicted to fossil fuels. It's time for an intervention. We need to hold fossil fuel companies and their enablers to account," Guterres said in an address to open the UN General Assembly. - AFP
Opening summit, UN chief warns of upcoming 'winter of discontent
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Tuesday warned international leaders of a looming "winter of global discontent" in a world beset by multiple crises from the Ukraine war to a warming climate.
"A winter of global discontent is on the horizon," Guterres said as he opened the annual General Assembly.
"Trust is crumbling, inequalities are exploding, our planet is burning. People are hurting -- with the most vulnerable suffering the most." - AFP
Watch live as the #UNGA General Debate gets underway.
— United Nations (@UN) September 20, 2022
Follow all the action & get information on the list of speakers here: https://t.co/aXqV1vYIJchttps://t.co/P7Ru8bLYDw
"Let’s have no illusions.
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 20, 2022
We are on rough seas.
A winter of global discontent is on the horizon.
A cost-of-living crisis is raging.
Trust is crumbling.
Inequalities are exploding.
Our planet is burning.
People are hurting – with the most vulnerable suffering the most..." pic.twitter.com/bbvq7MFe1N
Day 1 of the #UNGA General Debate
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 20, 2022
Expected in the morning session:@antonioguterres @UN_PGA
🇧🇷 Brazil
🇸🇳 Senegal
🇨🇱 Chile
🇯🇴 Jordan
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇹🇷 Türkiye
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
🇶🇦 Qatar
🇰🇷 Rep. of Korea
🇵🇾 Paraguay
🇫🇮 Finland
🇨🇭 Switzerland
🇸🇰 Slovakia
🇫🇷 France pic.twitter.com/lwon6fbonT
Watch live as the #UNGA General Debate gets underway.
— United Nations (@UN) September 20, 2022
Follow all the action & get information on the list of speakers here: https://t.co/aXqV1vYIJchttps://t.co/P7Ru8bLYDw
UN General Assembly highlights world’s to-do list to save global goals
United Nations - The UN secretary-general and the president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly UNGA joined world leaders and goodwill ambassadors on Monday in a global call to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and get back on track to building a better world that “leaves no one behind“.
With time running out on the achievement of SDGs and against the backdrop of calls for bold solutions to solve the world’s deepening challenges in this year's UN General Debate, which opened on Tuesday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened the third SDG Moment to urgently spur stronger commitments to ensure successful SDGs implementation.
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United Nations - The United Nations' massive annual summit returns in person on Tuesday to a world divided by multiple crises starting with Ukraine.
After two years of pandemic restrictions and video addresses, the UN General Assembly is again asking leaders to come in person if they wish to speak - with a sole exception made for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But the death of Queen Elizabeth II disrupted the summit anew. President Joe Biden of the United States, by tradition the second speaker on the first day, will instead speak on Wednesday.
The first day will feature French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the leaders of the two largest economies of the European Union, which has mobilized to impose tough sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"This year, Ukraine will be very high on the agenda. It will be unavoidable," top EU diplomat Josep Borrell told reporters in New York.
"There are many other problems, we know. But the war in Ukraine has been sending shock waves around the world."
But UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been urging leaders not to forget other priorities such as education, the topic of a special summit on Monday.
"Education is in a deep crisis. Instead of being the great enabler, education is fast becoming the great divide," Guterres told the summit.
He warned that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on learning, with poor students lacking technology at a particular disadvantage, and conflicts further disrupting schools.
In a report earlier this month, the UN Development Programme said Covid has set back humanity's progress by five years.
- Talks between rivals -
Other leaders to speak Tuesday include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has staked out ground as a broker between Russia and Ukraine, including through a deal to ship out badly needed grain to the world.
Erdogan is also expected to meet in New York with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, a dramatic rebound in relations after the Turkish leader's strident criticism of the Jewish state's treatment of Palestinians.
In the type of last-minute diplomacy common at previous UN sessions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken convened a first meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia since a flare-up in fighting.
"Strong, sustainable diplomatic engagement is the best path for everyone," Blinken told them.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was visiting despite a hostile reaction from the United States.
He met Monday with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, who urged Russia to allow a security zone outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, whose occupation by Moscow has raised mounting concerns.
Also high on the agenda for the UN week will be Iran, whose hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, is traveling to the General Assembly for the first time and will meet Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron.
In a US television interview ahead of his arrival, Raisi said that Iran wanted "guarantees" before returning to a nuclear deal that former president Donald Trump trashed in 2018.
"We cannot trust the Americans because of the behaviour that we have already seen from them. That is why if there is no guarantee, there is no trust," he told CBS News' "60 Minutes" program.
Biden supports a return to the 2015 agreement, under which Iran drastically scaled back nuclear work in return for promises of sanctions relief.
But the Biden administration says it is impossible in the US system to promise what a future president would do.
"There is no better offer for Iran," Colonna said ahead of the meeting with Macron.
"It's up to them to make a decision," she said.
Raisi can expect to be dogged by protests during his visit including by exile groups that have called for his arrest over mass executions of opponents a decade after the 1979 Islamic revolution. - AFP