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While small island developing countries have contributed the least to climate change, they are at the front lines of its repercussions, speakers in the General Assembly said today, as they concluded the annual high-level general debate by calling for a just and equitable multilateral system and a seat at the table for small States.
Powerful countries are pushing the world closer to the brink of nuclear conflict as mounting distrust and divisions corrode the bedrock of international cooperation, driving the multilateral system towards gridlock and dysfunction, world leaders warned today, as the General Assembly high-level debate concluded its fifth day of discussions.
On the precipice of a technological revolution — following widespread transition to digital solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence — speakers in the General Assembly today continued the annual high-level debate by contrasting the benefits and risks of this progress, along with its potential to either facilitate development or perpetuate inequality.
Building resilience and tackling the adverse impact of climate change should be an urgent priority for all, world leaders stressed today, as the General Assembly high-level debate concluded the third day of its deliberations, with speakers emphasizing that no meaningful climate action or development can take place in conditions of financial distress.
The world should not pretend that Africa’s present day economic and social conditions are not connected with historical injustices, world leaders stressed today as the General Assembly high-level debate continued, with speakers underscoring the need to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries.
The international community “seems incapable of coming together” to respond to a slew of growing global challenges and rising geopolitical tensions, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned the General Assembly today as its annual high-level debate commenced, which also featured world leaders underlining the importance of multilateralism — and of the United Nations — for cooperation in a fragmenting world.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ address to the opening of the seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly, in New York today:
On 1 June 2023, the United Nations General Assembly elected Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago as President of its seventy-eighth session, which runs from September 2023 until September 2024.