Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
World leaders are arriving in New York for the annual UN General Assembly meeting at a time of widening global instability, with wars in Europe and the Middle East, economic uncertainty and a changing world order shaping the agenda. Diplomats and officials say the international situation is markedly worse than it was a year ago, raising fresh questions about whether the United Nations and its 193 member states can respond effectively.
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the gathering comes at a moment of major change. “World leaders will be gathering at the United Nations in an era of deep uncertainty,” he told reporters recently. “At the same time, power is shifting. The world is changing. And our institutions must change with it.”
The past nine months have added to that sense of upheaval. They included a US military operation that removed Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro from power, followed by a deadly crackdown in Iran after tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators took to the streets to challenge the country’s theocracy. Soon after, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Tehran, triggering a spiralling conflict that now involves nearly every country in the region and has effectively closed a critical waterway.
At the same time, the more than four-year war between Russia and Ukraine has shown no sign of ending, with both sides stepping up attacks in recent days and repeated diplomatic efforts failing to make progress. In May, an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda raised further concerns about global preparedness for the next pandemic. Deadly earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia, along with flash floods in Nepal and Tibet, also underlined the growing impact of human-caused global warming on communities across the world.
In interviews ahead of the meeting, current and former ministers, ambassadors and officials from across the world described a bleak international picture and questioned whether the UN system can deal with the range of crises before it. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Former US Ambassador Robert Wood, who served at the US mission to the UN under both Republican and Democratic administrations, said, “It is a critical time to try to see if some of these issues can be resolved diplomatically.” He added, “The U.N. is really at an inflection point. There’s no doubt about it. It was bad last year. It’s not much better this year.” A European diplomat and another official said the world is not in a better place than it was this time last year and has become even more unstable, pointing to repeated attacks on international law, failed or absent mediation efforts, and the lack of global consensus on climate, peace and security.
Beyond closely watching speeches by figures such as US President Donald Trump, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian, officials hope to use meetings on the sidelines to engage both allies and rivals and try to move discussions on issues including maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and artificial intelligence. One Gulf official said it would be welcome to return to a greater level of predictability in world affairs. Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer said, “In international relations, everything is changing: the friendships are changing, and alliances are changing. But what remains constant is the interests and how to align those interests so that we live in peace and not in a permanent conflict.” The week at the UN is therefore opening with leaders facing a world in conflict and uncertainty, while still looking for space for diplomacy.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
