Description: Marking 80 years since the foundation of the United Nations, the General Debate at the UN General Assembly started where leaders would have the opportunity to address global issues and outline proposals for potential resolutions. Issues such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, climate change, AI development and global conflicts are expected to dominate this year’s UN charter. US President Donald Trump in an hour – long address to other world leaders highlighted the country’s involvement in global issues and conflicts which mirrored the current US conservative and unilateral modus of conducting foreign policy. The General Assembly’s primary topic of interest was the recognition of the Palestinian state by countries such as France, the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal, which was contested and heavily condemned by Israel and the US framing the recognition as a way to embolden organizations such as Hamas to use violence and terrorism in achieving their goals. UN’s Secretary General, Antonio Gutteres, announced the UN80 Initiative which would aim to decrease bureaucracy and administrative costs within the organization and make it more cost effective, following budget cuts from major sponsor countries such as the US.
Impact: On the 80th anniversary of the UN, trust in the organization’s effectiveness and productiveness has substantially declined and deteriorated over the past couple of decades. The UN has become a sheer declaratory panel for outlining different perspectives on global issues constrained by administrative and bureaucratic limitations to achieve concrete resolutions for the various crises around the globe. The UN Security Council has always been a playground for larger geopolitical players where adversarial countries such as the US and Russia halted initiatives for the betterment of the common global interest while prioritizing their independent national strategic agendas. The UN is in desperate need of rapid transformation where the inclusion of all 193 nations could bring about more transparent and productive solutions to the world’s major issues. The recognition of the Palestinian state currently serves as a political move to strengthen the narrative and keep the two – state solution to the war possible. In order to pressure Israel to cease its genocidal war, countries must take concrete steps such as sanctions and international isolation in order to materialize the Palestinian statehood recognition.