UN Secretary-General calls for solidarity and cooperation in the face of 'world peril'

The United Nations General Assembly began this week, with the UN’s Secretary-General calling for countries in the world to stand together in the face of “world peril.” The call for solidarity comes amidst the current issues in the world, such as climate change, the war in Ukraine, and humanitarian crises.

At the opening of the 77th UN General Assembly Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world must come together and cooperate to address the issues in the world today.

Guterres cited the war in Ukraine, climate change, worsening poverty, inequality, humanitarian crises, divisions as well as the “broken global financial system.”

“We face a world in peril across our work to advance peace, human rights, and sustainable development,” said Guterres. “Addressing common challenges will require continued solidarity as we demonstrate the great promise and potential of this organization.”

Dozens of high-level officials and heads of state will be taking turns to speak before the assembly next week, which takes place in New York.

A Russian diplomatic source told Reuters that Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was granted a visa to attend the UNGA with half the delegation requested by Moscow. Moscow previously requested Washington to grant it 56 visas, and Washington has only approved 24.

As stated in the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the United States is generally required to allow foreign diplomats to access the United Nations.

However, Washington said it can deny visas for security, terrorism, and foreign policy reasons. Earlier this month, the UN said it was discussing the issue of Russian visas with the US.

The UN is set to consider on Friday a proposal to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the annual gathering next week through a pre-recorded video speech.

Diplomats are expecting that Russia will vote on the proposed decision introduced by Kyiv. Russia’s ambassador to the UN said Moscow opposes a pre-recorded speech by Zelenskyy.

In a note to the UNGA members, the UN mission in Ukraine said Zelenskyy is unable to participate in the annual gathering in person due to the ongoing war. Zelenskyy is currently scheduled to address the assembly next week on September 21.