78th UN General Assembly Commences with Calls for Urgent Reforms and Global Unity
BY: Hana Saada
New York, September 19, 2023 – The 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off this Tuesday in New York City, gathering leaders from 140 countries, including President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of the Republic. Amidst growing global challenges, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a poignant address, emphasizing the dire need for reform, unity, and action to address a myriad of pressing issues.
Guterres began his speech by highlighting the devastating floods that struck the Libyan town of Derna just last week, underscoring it as a metaphor for the world’s current state – inundated with inequality, injustice, and a lack of collective response to challenges. “As geopolitical tensions and international challenges mount, we seem incapable of working together to meet these challenges,” lamented the UN Secretary-General.
In his address, Guterres emphasized the necessity of effective multilateral institutions in today’s multipolar world. He pointed out that institutions like the United Nations Security Council and the Bretton Woods financial institutions, including the World Bank, continue to reflect the political and economic realities of 1945. “The world has evolved, but our institutions have not,” Guterres stressed, calling for their reform to accurately reflect the contemporary global landscape.
“The alternative to reform is not maintaining the status quo. The alternative is increased fragmentation. Either we reform or we rupture,” declared Guterres, highlighting the urgency of revitalizing global governance structures.
Addressing global security challenges, the UN chief expressed deep concern over unconstitutional changes occurring across Africa’s Sahel region and the perilous situation in Sudan, which is on the brink of all-out civil war. In Afghanistan, he underscored that 70% of the population requires humanitarian assistance, with women and girls suffering systematic rights abuses.
Guterres also raised the issue of the Middle East, where unilateral actions threaten to undermine the prospects for a two-state solution, which remains the only viable path to peace in the region.
However, Guterres reserved his most urgent call for action for climate change. He stated, “Climate change is not just climate change. Climate change is altering life on our planet and affecting every facet of our work. It is claiming lives and ravaging societies.” He cited accelerating global temperatures, rising sea levels, and mass biodiversity loss as dire consequences of climate change. The Secretary-General asserted that the past summer witnessed the hottest temperatures on record, leading to shattered records, economic destruction, and countries teetering on the edge of collapse.
Despite these immense challenges, Guterres ended his address on a hopeful note, urging unity and determination in the face of adversity. He concluded, “Despite the daunting array of international challenges, the same spirit of determination can guide us forward.”
As the 78th UNGA session unfolds, world leaders now face the task of transforming Guterres’s impassioned words into meaningful actions, charting a course toward a more equitable, just, and sustainable global future.
