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• Our #1 story: Special Report: Zelensky Pushes New Drone Technology to Stop Russia’s Aggression, by Damilola Banjo
• UN churn: Alexandre Zouev, a Russian national, has been named acting head of the UN Office of Counterterrorism; he is formerly a rule of law expert in the Department of Peace Operations. He succeeds a fellow Russian, Vladimir Voronkov, who retired this month after leading the CT office since 2017.
***UNGA80 ‘Special Report’ Coverage by PassBlue***
Sunday, Sept. 21
• Electing the Next UN Secretary-General: A Final Test for Multilateralism, op-ed by Jean-Pierre Kempeneers and Sam Muller
Monday, Sept. 22
• Special Report: ‘The Time Has Come’: France Recognizes Palestine as a State, by Damilola Banjo: In a big break with the US, French President Emmanuel Macron joined 10 other nations in using the UNGA to recognize a Palestinian state, as longtime Israeli allies attempt to ramp up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza. “Nothing justifies the ongoing war in Gaza. Nothing. On the contrary, everything compels us to definitively end it,” said Macron.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
• Special Report: Trump Unleashes His Vitriol on the UN Itself and Many Countries, by Stephen Schlesinger. US President Trump disgusted diplomats at the UNGA with an hourlong tirade in which he touted his peacemaking accomplishments, ridiculed the UN and told EU leaders their countries were “going to hell” due to immigration.
• How Trump’s UN Escalator-Gate Happened, by Damilola Banjo: PassBlue’s definitive investigation.
• Special Report: Al Thani of Qatar; France, Brazil, Ukraine, Türkiye, South Africa: Weeks after Israel launched an airstrike on Doha, Qatari Emir Al Thani juggled criticism of Israel and praise for the US to try to reconstruct its image as a peace-building agent in the Mideast. Turkish President Erdogan ripped Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, while South Africa chastised US tariffs.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
• Special Report: Zelensky Pushes New Drone Technology to Stop Russia’s Aggression: Ukrainian President Zelensky called for new drone technology to counter Russia’s increasingly dominant offensives.
Thursday, Sept. 25
• Special Report: Ruto of Kenya; Syria, Argentina, Latvia, Serbia & Gender Justice: Kenyan President Ruto slammed the UN for failing to adequately fund the floundering Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) in Haiti, which is poised to end. Syrian President al-Sharaa debuted at the UN to champion his country’s newfound liberation from longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, while Argentinian leader Milei praised Trump and Hollywood’s Jane Fonda launched a Gender and Climate Justice Fund.
Friday, Sept. 26
• Special Report: Abbas of Palestine; Finland, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal: Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, said he “rejected” Netanyahu’s proposed “Greater Israel” plan, which calls for expanding Israel’s borders into Arab states. Finland thinks the Security Council veto should die, while Sierra Leone says Africa must have a permanent seat in the Council and Nigeria says it must have its own Council seat. Senegal struggles with jihadist problems spilling over from Mali.
Saturday, Sept. 27
• Special Report: Netanyahu of Israel; Sudan, UK, Mali, Haiti: Israel’s leader lashed out expectedly at Hamas but also France and other Western countries that recognized Palestine as a state this week, but his remarks fell onto a much-emptied General Assembly Hall as delegates walked out when Netanyahu took the rostrum. Sudan wants no outside mediation in its war; UK thinks AI needs regulating; Mali verbally assaults Algeria; and Haiti suffers beyond belief.
• Cultural events across New York City are proliferating on the sidelines of the 80th UNGA as artists and organizations are using the metropolis as a stage to speak to international delegates in town. — Pau Torres Pagès
• During UNGA, Foreign Policy hosted a panel, “Foundations of the Future,” on Sept. 25 about how democratic ideals can be protected amid rising authoritarianism, growing inequality and narrowing civic space. Thirteen speakers participated in the event, held in Midtown Manhattan, among them Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, president of the International Peace Institute, and Comfort Ero, president of the International Crisis Group, both think tanks.
Despite the immense threats to democracy today, the speakers said they were hopeful — offering solutions to slow the global slide into authoritarianism. Ravi Agrawal, Foreign Policy’s editor in chief, and Binaifer Nowrojee, president of the Open Society Foundations, began the discussion. “It’s a dangerous time for the world, but it’s also an opportunity,” Nowrojee said. She later added that “we have to look for the spaces where there is hope and start building a new future for us.”
She also called for empowering grassroots movements and local groups and understanding what they need to thrive. “Their wisdom, and the way they see the world, actually builds up transnationally to give an inflection into the global positions that we can take,” she said. “Then you can build an international movement that is informed by their reality.”
Janine di Giovanni, director of The Reckoning Project, a nonprofit that investigates human rights breaches in conflicts, spoke about the hundreds of journalists and health care workers who have been killed in Gaza. “We’re living in a time where this is normalized,” she said. “Now, more than ever, it’s a time for civil society, for journalists, and others in this field to come together in solidarity; it’s all we have right now.”
The panel’s final discussion centered on how democracies can be reformed to deliver for citizens. Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said that “defeating the global right” would require redefining democracy. He criticized the Democratic Party in the US for overfocusing on “procedure and process,” rather than creating a political experience that is “embodied, experienced and felt.”
“It can’t be a laundry list that is hollow in the lives of everyday people,” he added. — HANNA DAVIS
Arthur Bassas is a researcher and writer who graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland, majoring in international relations and terrorism. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and speaks English and French.
