UN High-level Week

This year’s United Nations General Assembly High-level Week took place from 18-28 September in New York. It was the last meeting for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (77), who has served in the post since 2017. He has many times reminded the 193 member states of their duties to act and find concrete solutions, not only talk, analyse and appoint committees and commissions. His clear words about the UN’s core normative roles, financing, administration and concrete actions will be remembered, especially now when the UN stands at a crossroads, needing major reorganisation and renewal, and clearer prioritisation of its ore roles.

Several participants expressed their opinions on what kind of Secretary-General the UN now needs to take office in January 2027, among them Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre from Norway, the land of the first UN Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, who held the high post from 1946-1952, not always in smooth waters, resigning early in his second-term extension. He was, among other things, working for a ceasefire in the fighting in Kashmir in 1946, the Soviet Union pulling out of Iran, and siding with South Korea, supported by the USA, in the Korean War (1950-53).

Also today, there are many difficult tasks for the UN to solve, but to be effective, the UN must get back to its intended core roles of preventing and solving conflicts and wars. The Norwegian PM said that he hopes the UN can this time find a Secretary-General who will be more a ‘General’ than a ‘Secretary’, not being afraid of speaking his or her mind to all member states regardless of their prominence and power in the international world, realising, too, that the UN’s power lies in the sum and will of its member states.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif headed the Pakistan delegation to this year’s UN General Assembly High-level Week, drawing attention to peace-brokering and peacekeeping efforts in several difficult wars and conflicts, indeed in Iran. Pakistan is gaining appreciation and respect from member states, the UN secretariat, country delegations and diplomats, among them the United States.

This year, as is too common in the world body’s meetings, there were more descriptions and statements of positions than real dialogue to try to solve issues. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, having observer status in the UN, spoke via video link about the situation of the Palestinian people. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily dismissed the allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza, and he asserted his country’s right to wage war against Iran, with the USA. Scores of delegates walked out in protest when Netanyahu took the podium.

President Donald Trump’s speech was, as always, the main event, where he focused on the USA’s war in Iran, hailed as blocking the country from developing nuclear weapons. He also spotlighted some of his country’s other ‘peace efforts’, or rather, acts of aggression, such as the seizure of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, where the USA is taking large chunks of the country’s massive oil reserves. Trump was boasting of his role as a ‘peacemaker’, claiming to have solved eight wars in the world, which, however, must be taken with a pinch of salt. He even claimed the war in Gaza has ended, yet the situation for the Palestinians is worse than ever. Good if what Trump said were true, but reality is different and much more complicated.

Separately, Iran proposed a ceasefire and a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But Trump has declined the offer, and it is speculated that the USA will continue its counterproductive military actions with bombings after the US mid-term election on 3 November. Trump also took credit for the USA-Denmark agreement over Greenland, but did not mention his earlier threat to take the territory by force. Besides, the agreement was achieved largely thanks to the efforts of Denmark’s PM and FM. It is true, though, that the agreement will lead to increased security in the Arctic area, at least as seen from a traditional military perspective. But I am not sure that Greenland will benefit as much as it should in the long term, as it seems the USA has been given a lasting upper hand over access to the island’s anticipated huge natural resources.

Some leaders from other countries said about Trump’s speech that it was typical of his brisk style and language, not quite suitable for the world’s main organisation for peace and cooperation. Not focusing on the UN’s leadership in preventing and solving conflicts and wars is perhaps typical of the USA, since it itself wants to keep playing such roles. About Ukraine, Trump has said that Ukraine should cede the land Russia already occupies, and even more, although not in accordance with international law.

The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, spoke too, as did many other important foreign ministers, prime ministers and presidents. In addition, there were numerous meetings on the sidelines, such as the one between Lavrov and his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, but Lavrov was unwilling to address key issues on Ukraine, saying he could only do that if Ukraine was also present. Furthermore, it is a fact that Germany’s economy suffers from a lack of cooperation with Russia regarding oil and gas.

At the present time, the UN stands at a crossroads, needing major reorganisation to become more effective and relevant, or maybe even close up, but that is not said. The USA has in recent years pulled out of or reduced its support to a number of UN organisations and operations. In future, the UN should plan to be less dependent on US funding. Also, the UN must make activities less costly and complicated, and some activities could better be implemented by other organisations. The UN’s financing crisis is partly caused by countries not meeting their commitments. Some hope that the oil-rich countries in the Middle East could contribute more to key international issues, but it is not certain that they would prioritise the UN.

Following President Trump’s participation and speech at the UN, where there were questions about the USA’s role and status in the world organisation and in international affairs, he went back to more pleasant tasks in Washington, D.C., hosting the grand visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with a large Chinese delegation of well-prepared experts in AI, various technological fields and trade. They all believe in broader and deeper cooperation between the two world superpowers, which has not always been the case since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. President Trump and the US leaders did their utmost to please their Chinese guests. Both presidents said at the end of the three-day event that it was all very successful, and further meetings between the leaders are foreseen.

It is probably not quite correct or balanced to compare the UN with the massive bloc of the two superpowers, the USA and China, but at the same time, we should be reminded that the two superpowers account for over 44 percent of nominal world GDP. We can only hope that the two superpowers will cooperate well in democratic ways with the UN and its member states in future, also to become more effective in peace efforts and help end wars and conflicts. Considering China’s impressive economic and technological developments, the UN and its members can certainly learn a lot from that country. In the social and political fields, the UN stands for universal values and visions important to all countries, including China and the USA.

Atle HetlandThe writer is a senior Norwegian social scientist with experience from university, diplomacy and development aid. He can be reached at [email protected]

The writer is a senior Norwegian social scientist with experience from university, diplomacy and development aid. He can be reached at [email protected]

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