UNITED NATIONS (AP) — With global support for a Palestinian state growing, Israel’s devastating war in Gaza is expected to take center stage as the U.N.’s gathering of world leaders gets into full gear Tuesday. But humanity’s myriad conflicts, rising poverty and heating planet will also be in the spotlight.
The General Assembly ‘s big week of meetings began Monday with events including a conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tuesday kicks off the “General Debate” in which presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and cabinet members give their annual take on the state of the world and their own nations.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are among those scheduled to speak Tuesday. Brazil leads off in a decades-long tradition dating to when it was the only nation that volunteered to speak first.
Previewing a likely emphasis of the debate, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said Monday that the U.N. is at a crossroads.
“We cannot take the easy path and simply give up,” she said at an event marking the world body’s 80th anniversary. “We have to choose the right path, to show the world that we can be better together — not because the last 80 years were perfect, but because for 80 years, we have tried.”