Live Updates
Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the UNGA here.
Peru will declare a national emergency on climate in the country as its commitment to tackling the climate change crisis, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said when addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
“Peru has taken on the goal of becoming a country that is carbon neutral by 2050 and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases by 30% to 40%, thereby respecting what was projected for 2030. As an expression of its commitment to the health of the planet, my government will declare the national climate emergency,” Castillo said.
Castillo didn’t provide further details about what a national emergency on climate entails. He went on to demand the countries that “pollute the most” to “meet their obligations.”
“Human action without respect for nature has led us to question the viability of the planet fighting climate change calls into question our consciences,” he said, adding that “desertification continues to clear forests, especially in the Amazon, and the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly devastating.”
President Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson continued to stress action on climate change in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday after the President’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly earlier in the day.
“Earlier today I addressed the United Nations General Assembly and I made clear the climate has to be the core area of action for all of us, and as we look ahead to the UK hosted COP26, which I’m really anxious to attend in Glasgow in November,” Biden said.
“Our economies have to work together, including through our build back better world initiative that we launched in Cardiff Bay, and today we’re going to discuss the next steps on all of this and as well as how the US and UK can continue our cooperation in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific and around the world and I want to thank you again Boris for making the effort to be here,” he added.
Johnson thanked the President for America’s cooperation on a number of fronts including lifting a ban on British beef, travel restrictions and most importantly climate change.
“I think the most important thing today has been your speech Joe to UNGA where you made a commitment on supporting the world to adapt to climate change, doubling the American commitment,” Johnson said, calling it fantastic to see the US stepping up and leading on the issue.
Johnson also discussed the new trilateral partnership among the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, saying it “has great potential to benefit the whole of the world with security.”
Asked is Britain was still at “the back of the queue” for a free trade deal, the President said he would talk about trade with Johnson today and they will “have to work that through.” Biden said he does feel very strongly about the Irish Accords and keeping those in place amid Brexit.
“We spent enormous amount of time and effort in the United States. It was a major bipartisan effort made and I would not at all like to see, nor I might add would many of my Republican colleagues, like to see a change in the Irish Accords, the end result having a closed border again,” Biden said, drawing an agreement from Johnson.
Biden also briefly weighed in on the possible extradition of Anne Sacoolas, the US woman accused of killing 19-year-old Harry Dunn in August 2019 while she was driving on the wrong side of the road in England, saying the case is being worked on and he believes there had been a civil settlement reached. He said he doesn’t know the status of the case right now but he would follow up.
Turkey plans to present the Paris climate agreement to its parliament next month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his United Nations General Assembly speech Tuesday afternoon.
“We are among the first countries to have signed the Paris climate agreement, however, we hadn’t yet ratified this agreement due to the injustices related to stated obligations and burden sharing,” he said.
“I would like to announce to the whole world, here from the United Nations General Assembly, the decision we have taken following the progress made within the framework of the agreement … we plan to present the Paris climate agreement for approval to our Parliament next month.”
About the Paris climate agreement: It’s an international agreement among nearly 200 nations to combat climate change.
Participants are committed to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, below 1.5 degrees. Each country is responsible for developing their own plans for achieving those goals.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would stop building coal plants abroad, marking a new climate commitment and a shift in policy around its sprawling Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
Speaking in a pre-recorded video to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, Xi said the country would also contribute to financial support for developing countries to address the climate crisis.
“China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad,” Xi said, according to a translation tweeted by China’s mission to the UN.
France did not change its United Nations General Assembly plans in light of the submarine deal between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, according to a spokesperson for the Elysee.
“The Foreign Minister was always going to represent France at the UNGA, the submarines deal did not change our plans,” she said.
Why we’re talking about submarines: The French government recently said it was betrayed when Australia pulled out of their existing multi-billion dollar defense deal, agreeing instead to attain nuclear-powered submarines through a new deal with the United States and the United Kingdom.
Australia was concerned the conventional submarines it ordered from France would not meet its strategic needs, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday.
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi told the United Nations General Assembly that nuclear weapons have “no place” in Iran’s defense doctrine.
“Nukes have no place in our defense doctrine and deterrence policy,” he said in a pre-recorded address Tuesday, adding his country’s strategic policy is to “consider the production and stockpiling of atomic weapons as forbidden.”
Raisi reiterated his criticism of the US for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the JCPOA.
The US’ attempt to “counter the Iranian people” by violating the JCPOA and taking the “maximum pressure” approach, have “totally failed … However, the policy of maximum tyranny is still on,” he said.
Rasi called for all parties to stay true to the nuclear deal in practice, adding that multiple reports released by the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, have “attested to adherence of Iran to its commitments.”
“However, the US has not yet discharged its obligations which is lifting sanctions,” Raisi said, going on to say that Iran does not trust promises made by the US government.
“The United States mistakenly believed it would render us desperate and devastated, but our perseverance has yielded results and will always do,” he told world leaders.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for the resumption of talks between North Korea and South Korea, and North Korea and the US.
“I call for a speedy resumption of dialogue between the two Koreas, and between the United States and North Korea. I hope to see that the Korean Peninsula will prove the power of dialogue and cooperation in fostering peace,” he said.
Moon also reiterated his call for a declaration to mark the end of war on the Korean Peninsula.
“More than anything, an end-of-war declaration will mark a pivotal point of departure in creating a new order of reconciliation and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula,” he said, suggesting the two Koreas with the US or the two Koreas with the US and China “declare that the war on the Korean Peninsula is over.”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Koreas simultaneous admission into the United Nations, he added.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took aim at the United States in a blunt pre-recorded speech Tuesday afternoon, invoking two moments that he said “made history” this year: the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, and Afghan civilians seen falling from American evacuation planes last month in Kabul.
In the light of such scenes, Raisi called for the US to refrain from trying to influence the world, saying the world no longer cares about “America First” or “America’s Back” — a jab at both President Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump.
“Freedom does not fit in the backpacks of soldiers coming from outside the region,” he added.
In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly since becoming president, Raisi also attacked the US for keeping sanctions on Iran, amid stalled negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
“We want only what is rightfully ours. All powers must stay true to the nuclear deal in practice,” he said.
President Biden met with Iraq’s President Barham Salih on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the White House announced Tuesday in a readout of the meeting, saying the two “discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship and deepening cooperation on regional diplomatic initiatives.”
“President Biden stressed the U.S. commitment to Iraq’s long-term stability and the leaders reaffirmed their respect for Iraq’s democracy, rule of law, and efforts to hold credible and transparent elections this October. He lauded recent initiatives such as the Baghdad Regional Summit and the historic visit of Pope Francis to Iraq earlier this year as an important symbol of Iraq’s contributions to regional stability and interfaith tolerance,” the readout said.
The meeting was not listed on Biden’s schedule released by the White House.
Colombian President Iván Duque called on free and fair elections in Venezuela to address the “millions of Venezuelans fleeing the narco dictatorship and infamy,” and outlined the steps his government has undertaken to address the issue.
“The work with the United Nations and the office of Dr. Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees, has shown great progress, such as providing temporary protection status to more than one million two hundred thousand Venezuelan migrants living in our country,” Duque said during his UNGA speech Tuesday.
“We undertake this challenge not being a rich country and at an enormous fiscal cost. The situation requires that through the donor conferences that have been established, we now need to see the disbursements of the commitments of the international community, and I urge you to do that,” Duque asked.
Duque said his government’s goal is to naturalize the 1.8 million Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia.
With the temporary protection status, Venezuelans can legally work in Colombia and earn the same amount as a Colombian citizen would, according to a government statement from August.
Duque also addressed the talks between the government of Nicolás Maduro and Venezuelan opposition taking place in Mexico City, saying “those talks do give some hope” but the only effective solution to “the worst migration crisis affecting the planet” is holding a free and transparent presidential election that involved international observation as soon as possible.
Colombian President Iván Duque on Tuesday called for the fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
“Today, I call upon the international community to strengthen multilateralism in the area of health and to make progress in the fair distribution of vaccines, delegates,” Duque said during his address at the United Nations General Assembly, calling out what he called “shortcomings in multilateralism” in a coordinated response “during the most critical times.”
“The divides existing between nations with regard to the process of vaccination are unprecedented. While some nations are acquiring additional doses for six or seven times the size of their population and are also announcing third booster shots, others have not even been able to inject one single dose of hope in their population,” he said.
The equitable distribution of the Covid-19 “is our moral duty,” he said, adding that Colombia is making progress in the national vaccination plan “to cover as the minimum 70% of our citizens.”
President Biden met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations.
The two leaders touted the US-Australian relationship just days after the announcement of their new partnership drew the ire of France.
“The United States has no closer or more reliable ally than Australia. Our nations have stood together for a long, long time, and we can rely on one another, and that’s really reassuring. And we’re grateful for our partnership and what we’ve accomplished together over 70 years,” Biden said as he kicked off the meeting, calling Morrison a “friend.”
He said they would be discussing a free and open Indo-Pacific, conversations that will continue with the first in-person Quad leaders meeting Friday at the White House with leaders from India and Japan.
Biden said Australia is working “in lockstep” with the US on challenges including Covid-19, climate change, and defending democracy, reiterating his view that the world is at an “inflection point.”
Morrison thanked Biden for his leadership and touted the US-Australian partnership, saying the two nations have always stood together to pursue freedom.
“So, Mr. President, I want to thank you for your leadership and your focus on the Indo-Pacific region. There’s no doubt – you get it,” Morrison said.
Biden told Morrison the two had a “lot of work to do” as the spray concluded. He did not respond to shouted questions.
Some background: Biden’s comments come following tension between European leaders and the White House over a scuppered submarine deal. The French government has been seething since last week, when Australia abandoned a huge deal to buy conventional submarines from France. Instead, the US and UK announced they would help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new security pact called AUKUS.
The move has opened a new fissure in the Western alliance and sparked growing public criticism from other European officials.
You can read more about the submarine deal here.
President Biden took a shouted question on the situation on the southern border as he departed the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday.
“We’re getting it under control,” he said.
What we know: Videos taken by Al Jazeera and Reuters appear to show law enforcement officers on horseback using aggressive tactics when confronting migrants, including authorities swinging long reins near migrants who crossed the US-Mexico border near Del Rio, Texas.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday said he was “horrified” by the images.
“I was horrified by what I saw,” Mayorkas told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day.” “I’m going to let the investigation run its course. But the pictures that I observed troubled me profoundly. That defies all of the values that we seek to instill in our people.”
Thousands of migrants – many of them Haitian – have gathered in a temporary site under the Del Rio International Bridge in Texas as they wait to be processed by US immigration authorities. They sleep in the dirt, surrounded by growing piles of garbage, exposed to the elements and without much food and water, in hopes of being processed by the overwhelmed US Border Patrol.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is contradicted by data and aerial images, non-governmental organizations say.
Bolsonaro said in his remarks that the Amazon had “a 32% reduction in deforestation in the month of August when compared to August of the previous year.”
Brazil’s president used numbers from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) released on Friday that points to a 918 square kilometers deforestation rate for August.
The number is almost double of what was registered in August 2018, before the Bolsonaro administration. Data from the Amazon Institute of Man and Environment (Imazon) – which monitors the deforested areas by satellite – however, points to 1.606 square kilometers of deforestation in August, a 7% rise in comparison to the same month of 2020. It is also the highest rate for August in a decade, according to Imazon´s satellites imagery.
After Bolsonaro’s speech in New York, Amazon in Flames Alliance, a group formed by NGOs Amazon Watch, Greenpeace Brazil, and the Brazilian Climate Observatory, released aerial images of an expedition at Rondonia and Amazonas states on Brazilian Amazon between Sept. 14 and 17.
The images show large areas of the Amazon deforested in July, already consumed by fire, scars from mining activities within protected areas, illegal landing strips, large plots of land being prepared for planting, and cattle grazing alongside recent fires.
“While Bolsonaro was en route to New York, we flew over the Amazon to record the reality of the destruction of the largest tropical rainforest in the world: illegal deforestation and burning. The images don’t lie, but the same cannot be said of the President’s speech at the UN,” says Stela Herschmann, climate policy specialist at the Climate Observatory.
Some background: Under the Bolsonaro administration, Amazonas surpassed Rondonia as the third state with the worst level of deforestation, according to INPE. In August alone, 8.588 fire spots were registered in the state, surpassing the record for the same month in 2020, which, in turn, had surpassed that of 2019. Fires are used by land grabbers and ranchers as a tool to deforest areas and take the land.
“Enforcement agencies such as IBAMA need to recover their capacity to act. Losing the southern Amazon, considered the heart of the Amazon, could bring us even closer to the forest’s tipping point. This is a time to act against the crimes, and not to cover them up,” says Ana Paula Vargas, Amazon Watch Brazil Program director.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been criticized for his handling of the global pandemic, told the UN General Assembly that Covid-19 “caught everyone by surprise” in 2020.
Bolsonaro, who is unvaccinated against the virus, said lockdown measures “left a legacy of inflation, particularly in foodstuffs, all over the world.”
“In Brazil, to cater to the needs of the low-income population, who were forced to stay at home by decisions taken by governors and mayors, people who lost their income, we granted an emergency aid of 800 US dollars to 68 million people in 2020.”
The Brazilian president has publicly spoken out against lockdowns, receiving criticism from governors, such as São Paulo governor João Doria.
However, Bolsonaro said that by November this year, all citizens “who have chosen to be vaccinated in Brazil will be duly covered.”
“We support vaccination efforts,” he said, although he acknowledged his own government’s lack of wider vaccine participation. “However, my administration has not supported a vaccine or health passport, or any other vaccine related obligation.”
President Biden wrapped his more than 30 minutes remarks to the UN General Assembly with an optimistic call for the global community to rally behind building “a better future,” by meeting the list of challenges he laid out in his first address as president.
“Let me be clear, I am not agnostic about the future we want for the world,” Biden said. “The future will belong to those who embrace human dignity. Not trample it. The future belongs to those who unleash the potential of their people, not those who stifle it.”
Biden said democracy lives in peaceful protesters, human rights advocates, journalists, women fighting for freedom among others in countries like Belarus, Zambia, Syria and Cuba, while nodding to the US’ own struggles in democracy.
“I stand here today the first time in 20 years the United States is not at war. We’ve turned the page. All the unmatched strength, energy, commitment, will and resources, our nation are now fully and squarely focused on what’s ahead of us, not what was behind,” he said.
President Biden, without naming China, said the United States isn’t seeking to reenter a global era of conflict akin to the decades-long standoff with the Soviet Union.
“The United States will compete, and will compete vigorously, and lead with our values and our strength,” Biden said in his first address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
He said the US would “stand up for our allies and our friends and oppose attempts by stronger countries that dominate weaker ones.” He cited attempts to change territory by force, economic coercion and disinformation as examples of malign activity the US would oppose. Still, he said those efforts should be interpreted as aggression.
“The United States is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to shared challenges, even if we have intense disagreement in other areas, because we’ll all suffer the consequences of our failure,” he said.
President Biden told world leaders that his country is focused squarely on the future, noting that ending the war in Afghanistan was a step in moving in that direction.
“These are the challenges that we will determine what the world looks like for our children and grandchildren and what they’ll inherit. We can only meet them by looking to the future. I stand here today for the first time in 20 years with the United States not at war. We’ve turned the page,” Biden said.
“All the unmatched strength, energy and commitment, will and resources of our nation are now fully and squarely focused on what’s ahead of us, not what was behind,” he continued.
Biden said the US is looking to lead on the global stage, but with the help of its allies and partners.
“As we look ahead, we will lead, we will lead on all the greatest challenges of our time from Covid to climate, peace and security, human dignity and human rights, but we will not go it alone,” he told the United Nations. “We’ll lead together with our allies and partners and in cooperation with all those who believe as we do, that this is within our power to meet these challenges, to build a future, to lift all of our people and preserve this planet. But none of this is inevitable. It’s a choice.”
“I can tell you where America stands, we will choose to build a better future, we, you and I. We have the will and capacity to make it better,” he continued. “Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot afford to waste any more time. Let’s get to work. Let’s make our better future now. It’s within our power and our capacity.”
Earlier in his speech: US President described his worldview of a “new era of relentless diplomacy” in his first remarks to the United Nations General Assembly as President, calling on the world to work together on shared challenges.
Calling it a “moment intermingled with great pain and extraordinary possibility” amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden said the “shared grief is a poignant reminder that our collective future will hinge on our ability to recognize our common humanity, and act together.”
Biden reiterated his belief that it is an “inflection point in history” and the dawn of “what must be a decisive decade for the world.”
He framed the moment as an opportunity for the world’s democracies, echoing sentiments casting this time in history as a question of whether democracy can prevail over autocracy.
“Will we affirm and uphold the human dignity and human rights under which nations and common cause more than seven decades ago formed this institution?” Biden asked. He continued, “Or, allow these universal principles to be trampled and twisted in the pursuit of naked political power? In my view, how we answer these questions in this moment, whether we choose to fight for our shared future or not, will reverberate for generations yet to come.”
The President called on world leaders to work together to defeat the pandemic and take steps toward preventing the next pandemic, combat climate change, strengthen the UN charter and human rights globally, and collaborate on trade, cyber, emerging technologies, and the threat of terrorism.
President Biden said the US must remain vigilant against global and domestic terrorism in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
“The bitter sting of terrorism is real. We’ve almost all experienced it. Last month, we lost 13 American heroes and almost 200 innocent Afghan civilians in a heinous terrorist attack at the Kabul airport. Those who commit acts of terrorism against us will continue to find a determined enemy in the United States. The world today is not the world of 2001, though. And the United States is not the same country we were when we were attacked on 9/11, 20 years ago. Today, we’re better equipped to detect and prevent terrorist threats and we are more resilient in our ability to repel them and to respond,” he said.
Biden also said the US will work with local partners to decrease the need for large military deployments.
“We’ll meet terrorist threats that arise today and in the future with a full range of tools available to us, including working in cooperation with local partners, so that we need not be so reliant on large-scale military deployments. One of the most important ways we can effectively enhance security and reduce violence is by seeking to improve the lives of the people all over the world who see that their governments are not serving their needs,” he said.
President Biden, citing “widespread death and devastation” due to climate change, announced Tuesday he would work with Congress to double US funding to help developing countries combat the crisis.
He said along with private capital efforts, the step would meet a goal of mobilizing $100 billion to support climate action in developing nations.
The steps come as Biden said the world is approaching a “point of no return” in the climate crisis.
He called on nations to “bring their highest possible ambitions to the table,” when world leaders convene in six weeks at a climate summit in Scotland.
While expressing the United States’ “unequivocal” support for an independent Jewish state, President Biden said he believed in a two-state solution for the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
“I continue to believe that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish democratic state, living in peace alongside a viable, sovereign, and democratic Palestinian state. We’re a long way from that goal at this moment. We must never allow ourselves to give up the possibility of progress,” he told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
Currently, Israel is recognized as a member state by the UN and Palestinians hold a ”non-member observer state” status.
Biden announced during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly that the US will make a $10 billion commitment to the effort to “end hunger and invest in food systems at home and abroad.”
“At a time when nearly 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to adequate food, just last year, the United States has committed to rallying our partners to address immediate malnutrition and ensure we can sustainably feed the world for the decades to come.”
In his address to the United Nations Tuesday, US President Biden said the US would pursue new rules of global trade and economic growth.
“We will pursue new rules of global trade and economic growth, level the playing field so it’s not artificially tipped in any one country at the expense of others and every nation has the right and opportunity to compete fairly,” the President said.
“We will strive to ensure basic labor rights, environmental safe guards, and intellectual property are protected and that the benefits of globalization are shared broadly throughout all our societies. We’ll continue to uphold the long-standing rules and norms that have formed the guardrails of international engagement for decades that have been essential to the development of nations around the world. Bedrock commitments like freedom of navigation, adherence to international laws and treaties, support for arms control measures to reduce the risk and enhance transparency,” Biden continued.
“As we strive to deal with these urgent challenges, whether they’re long-standing or newly emerging, we must also deal with one another. All the major powers of the world have a duty, in my view, to carefully manage their relationships so they do not tip from responsible competition to conflict,” Biden said.
His comments come amid tension between European leaders and the White House over a scuppered submarine deal. The French government has been seething since last week, when Australia abandoned a huge deal to buy conventional submarines from France. Instead, the US and UK announced they would help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new security pact called AUKUS.
The move has opened a new fissure in the Western alliance and sparked growing public criticism from other European officials.
You can read more about the submarine deal here.
Watch:
President Biden said that the US military will continue to defend “ourselves, our allies, and our interest against attack,” adding that the mission “must be clear and achievable.”
“US military power must be our tool of last resort not our first and should not be used as an answer to every problem we see around the world,” he said in is remarks before the UN General Assembly.
Biden continued: “Indeed, today many of our greatest concerns cannot be solved or even addressed through the force of arms. Bombs and bullets cannot defend against Covid-19 or its future variants. To fight this pandemic, we need a collective act of science and political will. We need to get shots in arms as fast as possible and expand access to oxygen, tests, treatments to save lives around the world.”
He touted American vaccine sharing efforts, saying they’d provided a “little dose of hope” in communities around the world.
He said that the US has contributed more than $15 billion toward global Covid-19 response, shipping “more than 160 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to other countries.”
“This includes 130 million doses from our own supply and the first tranches of a half a billion doses of Pfizer vaccine we purchased to donate through COVAX,” he said.
Biden said that tomorrow at the US-hosted global Covid-19 summit, he’ll be announcing additional commitments from the US to fight Covid-19 around the world and to “hold ourselves accountable around specific targets on three key challenges — saving lives now, vaccinating the world, and building back better.”
President Biden called on world leaders to unite in fighting climate change, telling those at the UN General Assembly that the crisis is “borderless.”
“This year has also brought widespread death and devastation from the borderless climate crisis. The extreme weather events that we have seen in every part of the world — and you all know it and feel it — represent what the secretary-general has rightly called ‘code red for humanity,’” Biden told world leaders.
Biden reiterated that scientists and experts are telling the world that “we’re fast approaching a point of no return in a literal sense.”
“To keep within our reach the vital goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, every nation needs to bring their highest possible ambitions to the table when we meet in Glasgow for COP26,” Biden said. “And then we have to keep raising our collective ambition over time.”
The US President touted his administration’s steps to combat climate change, noting that in April, he announced his country’s new goal under the Paris Agreement “to reduce green house gas emissions from the United States by 50% to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030.”
“And my administration is working closely with our congress to make critical investments in green infrastructure and electric vehicles that will help us lock in progress at home toward our climate goals,” he continued.
President Biden reasserted that the United States is taking back its leadership role on international issues, such as climate change, global health and pandemic mitigation.
He emphasized the alliances he has engaged this year with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the “Quad” partnership with India, Australia and Japan to address the challenges and threats of “today and tomorrow.”
“We are reengaged at the World Health Organization, and working in close partnership with Covax to deliver life-saving vaccines around the world. We rejoined the Paris climate agreement, and we’re running to retake a seat in the Human Rights Council next year at the UN.”
He added:
In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden said the United States will look forward instead of “continuing to fight the wars of the past.”
Biden said the world is at “an inflection point in history.”
“Instead of continuing to fight the wars of the past, we are fixing our eyes on devoting our resources into the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future. Ending this pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, managing the shifts in global power dynamics, shaping the rules of the world on vital issues like trade, cyber and emerging technologies, and facing the threat of terrorism as it stands today,” Biden said to global leaders.
“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy, of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world, of renewing and defending democracy, of proving that no matter how challenging or how complex the problems we’re going to face, government by and for the people is still the best way to deliver for all of our people,” Biden said.
The last US troops left Afghanistan at the end of August.
The President said the focus will turn to the Indo-Pacific region, and he pledged to work with allies and the UN.
“And as the United States turns our focus to the priorities and the regions of the world like the Indo-Pacific that are most consequential today and tomorrow, we’ll do so with our allies and partners through cooperation and multilateral institutions like the United Nations to amplify our collective strength and speed, our progress for dealing with these global challenges,” he said.
President Biden began his address to the UN General Assembly by acknowledging the huge losses around the world from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We meet this year in a moment of intermingled with great pain and extraordinary possibility. We’ve lost so much to this devastating pandemic that continues to claim lives around the world and impact so much on our existence. We’re mourning more than 4.5 million people, people of every nation, from every background. Each death is an individual heartbreak,” he said.
He went on to say that this is “a decisive decade for our world” which will “quite literally determine our futures.”
On the pandemic, Biden asked: “Will we work together to save lives, defeat Covid-19 everywhere, and take the necessary stem to prepare ourselves for the next pandemic, because there will be another one. Or will we fail to harness the tools at our disposal as more virulent and dangerous variants take hold?”
President Biden is delivering his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly since taking office, where he’s expected to present his long-term vision for the global community, defend the withdrawal from Afghanistan and emphasize the importance of reestablishing alliances.
Biden’s appearance at the assembly in New York comes as he continues to deal with a number of foreign policy crises, including blowback from the French over a recent deal to give Australia nuclear-powered submarines, the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a bungled US drone strike in Kabul that killed Afghan civilians.
An administration official listed Covid-19, climate change, emerging technologies, trade and economics, investments in clean infrastructure and counterterrorism as areas toward which the President intends to direct the world’s attention — a prospect made easier by ending prolonged military conflicts.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also said on Monday that Biden, during his remarks, will “lay out the case for why the next decade will determine our future, not just for the United States, but for the global community. And he will talk — and this will be a central part of his remarks — about the importance of reestablishing our alliances over the last several years.”
Read more about Biden’s speech here.
President Biden just arrived at the United Nations in New York City ahead of his remarks in the General Assembly.
Biden’s speech “will center on the proposition that we are closing the chapter on 20 years of war and opening a chapter of intensive diplomacy by rallying allies and partners and institutions to deal with the major challenges of our time,” a senior administration official said.
Here’s a look at the countries speaking this morning:
CNN’s Maegan Vazquez contributed reporting to this post.
With Covid-19 and the environment at the top of the agenda at this year’s United Nations’ General Assembly, observers might brace themselves for the first world leader to speak in the UN headquarters’ storied hall: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, notorious for his controversial handling of both issues at home.
Brazil traditionally goes first in the General Assembly’s weeklong roster of speeches by member states, and Bolsonaro, who is up for re-election next year, has wasted no time in setting a pugnacious tone for his appearance, publicly flouting the UN’s “honor system” that calls for foreign delegations to be vaccinated before entering the building, declaring last week that he would not get vaccinated, because he already had Covid-19.
“Why do you take a vaccine? To have antibodies, right? My antibodies rate is really high. I can show you the document,” he said in a live social media broadcast.
He added that he will only make a decision about getting vaccinated “after everyone in Brazil gets the vaccine” — a dissonant voice as the UNGA pushes this year to increase vaccination throughout the globe, and cajoling wealthier nations to share more doses with poorer ones.
Even in his home country, setting a good example is hardly Bolsonaro’s forte. He has long bucked pandemic restrictions and public health guidance, appearing maskless with crowds and frequently raging against municipal and state-level lockdown orders in Brazil, even during the grimmest moments of the pandemic, when hospitals filled to capacity and whole cities ran out of oxygen.
Over half a million Brazilians have died in the pandemic — the highest death toll in the world after the United States. Moreover, the Brazilian president tends to use appearances at the UN to reject foreign authority, showing a similar allergy to being told what to do when it comes to another globe-spanning crisis: global warming.
While Bolsonaro may test the ground with more measured rhetoric on climate and Covid-19, he has also launched new lines of attack domestically that hardly accord with the UN’s views on strengthening democracy and respect for institutions. In August, for example, Bolsonaro said he saw only three possibilities for his future — death, prison or winning the 2022 presidential elections — and has actively worked to undermine anything other than a victory at the polls, attacking his country’s voting system as unreliable unless it implements paper ballots.
“The world must wake up. We are on the edge of an abyss and moving in the wrong direction,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN General Assembly ahead of the official start of the general debate.
He outlined the following global priorities:
Bridge the peace divide Bridge the climate divide Bridge the gap between rich and poor, within and among countries Bridge the gender divide Bridge the digital divide Bridge the divide among generations
Leaders from around the world will now each get their turn to address the assembly.
You can find a list of today’s speakers here.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki previewed President Biden’s United Nations message Tuesday, saying the US is “looking outward.” He is set to deliver remarks at 10 a.m. ET before the UN General Assembly.
“He’s going to say to the world, all the leaders in the room, we’re not looking inward after we end a 20-year war. We’re going to look outward, and we’re going to prioritize what’s most important to address, whether that’s the climate crisis, whether that’s cyber threats, continuing to work with partners on counterterrorism, and that’s what we need to have our resources and focus and our eyes on, and we’re gonna do that through rebuilding our allies and partnerships,” she said during an appearance on CBS Mornings.
Psaki said Biden will be working on the US’s relationships abroad.
“The President is the first to say, you’ve got to work on relationships – we know this our real lives as well. And he is here to do that too. So when he speaks to the world today, he’s going to convey alliances are the backbone of who we are. We’re going to build and address these issues in the world based on those alliances,” she said.
As for another relationship, China, Psaki said that Biden conveyed to UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres during their meeting Monday that “you do not have to be concerned that we’re trying to start a cold war with China – that is not what the United States is going to do.”
Rather, Psaki said, Biden views the relationship “through the prism of competition.”
Pressed on the “incoming” facing the Biden administration, Psaki acknowledged the challenges of the time.
“The way the President sees it, and we all do, is that’s what you do as president: you navigate crises, you weather storms, and we’re certainly doing that right now,” she said.
She touted the “long-abiding friendship” with France when asked about current tension in the relationship.
“We have a long abiding relationship, friendship, alliance with France. What we’re talking about here – this is about an economic deal. We have the best nuclear sub technology in the world, and the Australians wanted our technology. Prior to that, they were buying this from France. We understand that they’re displeased about that but we have a long abiding friendship with them, that’s going to endure and we’re going to rely on that long history of friendships,” she said.
And asked Biden’s reaction to video that appears to show law enforcement officers on horseback confronting Haitian refugees at the US border, Psaki said Biden “also felt they were horrific and horrible,” going on to note a statement from Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas on the investigation and the additional personnel sent to the area.
“I think it’s important for people to know that’s not who we are, that’s not who the Biden-Harris administration is, and we’re going to absolutely pursue that investigation and get to the bottom of what happened here,” she said.
Tension between European leaders and the White House over a scuppered submarine deal threatened to overshadow President Biden’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, with one EU official saying “something is broken” in the transatlantic alliance.
The French government has been seething since last week, when Australia abandoned a huge deal to buy conventional submarines from France. Instead, the US and UK announced they would help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new security pact called AUKUS.
The move has opened a new fissure in the Western alliance and sparked growing public criticism from other European officials.
Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for internal markets, said in an interview with CNN on Monday that “something is broken between our relations in Europe and the US.”
Breton warned there was a “growing feeling” in Europe over past few weeks and there had been a “lack of trust and confidence between allies.”
Some background: France reacted with fury to news of the new pact on Thursday, and that Australia was abandoning its $65 billion deal to buy French-built, conventionally powered submarines. In the wake of the deal, France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra, and asked the EU to reconsider Australia’s bid for a free-trade deal with the bloc.
While Biden has asked for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in an attempt to smooth relations, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday he would not speak with Macron during the UN this week.
“That is not an opportunity for that at this time. I’m sure that opportunity will come in time. But right now, I understand the disappointment,” Morrison said.
Macron will not be in New York for the UN General Assembly and will not send a pre-recorded address, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN Tuesday. He had originally been slated to deliver a pre-recorded statement.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that Biden and Macron had agreed to speak “in the coming days.”
Read more about the submarine deal here.
It’s day one of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, and some world leaders are gathering in person despite a letter from the US encouraging member states to call in virtually, like they did last year.
More than 100 heads of state and government coming in person, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden.
Like all UN events, schedule changes are ongoing, but here are the countries slated to address the assembly today:
Morning speakers:
Afternoon speakers:
President Biden’s first speech as President to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will amplify his decision to end the war in Afghanistan, arguing it was time to move on to other, modern-day challenges.
“The speech will center on the proposition that we are closing the chapter on twenty years of war and opening a chapter of intensive diplomacy by rallying allies and partners and institutions to deal with the major challenges of our time,” a senior administration official said a day before the address.
Biden is due to make his debut on the UNGA stage on Tuesday morning. He will be speaking amid several foreign policy crises, from a botched drone strike in Afghanistan that killed 10 civilians to a spat with France over nuclear-powered submarines.
The official downplayed those rifts, suggesting the United States continued to lead in areas of climate and Covid-19, citing global summits the President will convene on those topics over the course of the week.
The official listed Covid-19, climate change, emerging technologies, trade and economics, investments in clean infrastructure and counterterrorism as areas the President intends to harness the world’s attention — a prospect made easier by ending prolonged military conflicts.
“The President will essentially drive home the message that ending the war in Afghanistan closed the chapter focused on war and opened a chapter focused on purposeful, effective, intensive American diplomacy,” the official said.
Looming just as large as the political dramas are the deadly consequences of global warming, after a year of historic heat, wildfires and floods.
According to a new report released Friday by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the planet is careening toward warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — far above the 1.5 degree Celsius limit scientists say is necessary to stave off the worse consequences of the climate crisis.
Diverting this “catastrophic” path means building climate action into the world’s pandemic recovery, and the General Assembly is seen as the last opportunity to lock in global commitments before next month’s G20 in Rome and November’s COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Johnson — a cohost of COP26 — sat down with the secretary general and dozens of other leaders for one of few in-person meetings to discuss the environment, focusing on the G20’s responsibilities. That same day, UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa, former US Vice President Al Gore and COP26 chair Alok Sharma, spoke at a high-powered event on how to deliver the goals set out in the 2015 Paris accord.
A special open Security Council debate on climate and security will follow on Thursday, and a virtual event on sustainable energy will be held the next day — the first such high-level event since 1981.
The week will also be an opportunity for some countries and businesses that haven’t yet set ambitious goals for carbon neutrality to finally do so and capitalize on the global attention.
President Biden plans to use his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to advocate for a global response to the major issues currently facing the world, according to a senior administration official.
The pandemic, climate change, human rights, and the assault on democracy in countries around the world will all be topics in Biden’s address.
Biden has been working on the speech with his team for a few weeks and spent part of the weekend in Rehoboth polishing it, the official said.
The events of the past several days and weeks — including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, a drone strike that killed 10 civilians and a spat with France over nuclear submarines — are all complicating his debut as President at the General Assembly rostrum.
Officials view the speech and the other events surrounding it — including a Covid-19 summit on Wednesday and a meeting of “Quad” leaders on Friday (leaders of US, Japan, India and Australia) — as a critical moment for Biden to articulate his foreign policy vision and lay out what he believes should be the world’s priorities.
The official said Biden doesn’t necessarily feel he needs to explain himself after a troubled stretch that caused rifts with major allies. But officials do believe that at this fraught moment, Biden can use his speech and other events to help other leaders understand his worldview better.
He will speak about Afghanistan in his speech, including laying out expectations for the Taliban. Biden and other leaders are still assessing whether and when to recognize the Taliban as the official government of the country.
He will also discuss the Covid-19 pandemic and argue for more aggressive measures around the world to contain the spread of the virus and prevent new variants from emerging.
Speaking at the world’s foremost institution of multilateral diplomacy, the President will argue for a collective approach to global problems. Unlike his predecessor, Biden is a believer in the UN’s mission — if realistic about its efficacy — and wants to speak to its vital role in the world, the official said, particularly after four years under President Trump when the US commitment was questioned.
US fears that this week’s annual world leader jamboree at the United Nations could spark a super spreader event will highlight the stark inequality of global access to Covid-19 vaccines — even as developed nations begin offering booster shots.
Scores of presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers are set to ignore an American suggestion to stay home and address the UN General Assembly virtually and will converge on New York City in person this week.
The possibility that the visiting delegations might themselves pose a health threat will be an important reminder that while nations like the United States and major European powers have pushed ahead with vaccinating tens of millions of their people, many smaller, poorer nations, which lack pharmaceutical industries, have not been able to secure or make their own vaccines.
The World Health Organization said last week that more than 5.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, but 73% of those doses have been administered in just 10 countries.
That reality represents the biggest potential stumbling block to ending the pandemic — and preventing even more infectious strains of the coronavirus like the Delta variant from building resistance to existing vaccines.
It will also underscore the world’s failure so far to come up with a unified response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years, which will be at the center of countless speeches by world leaders in the coming two weeks.
While the social side of the UN General Assembly event and bilateral meetings have been pared back, it’s possible that an influx of visitors, many from nations subject to US travel restrictions, could create classic conditions to spread infections and foster global transmission.
Read the full story here.
Leaders from around the world are now arriving at the United Nations headquarters in New York City for the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Member states are expected to deliberate on two parallel challenges: ending the Covid-19 pandemic and redefining the post-pandemic global economy.
President Biden is due to make his debut on the UNGA stage this morning. He will be speaking amid several foreign policy crises, from a botched drone strike in Afghanistan that killed 10 civilians to a spat with France over nuclear-powered submarines.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the world is on a “catastrophic pathway” with the climate crisis, at a news conference on Monday following a roundtable on climate with member states – a meeting he said he convened to “instill a sense of urgency on the dire state of the climate process ahead of COP26” in November.
“Based on the present commitments of member states, the world is on a catastrophic pathway to 2.7 degrees of heating, instead of 1.5 we all agreed should be the limit,” he said, “Science tells us that anything above 1.5 degrees would be a disaster.”
Guterres said the world needs a 45% cut in emissions by 2030 to limit a rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees.
“Instead, the commitments made until now by countries imply an increase of 16% in greenhouse gas emissions – not a decrease of 45% – an increase of 16% in greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 compared to 2010 levels,” he said.
He warned of a high risk for the failure of COP26 “unless we collectively change course.”
He called on the international community to keep the goal of 1.5 degree Celsius within reach, to deliver on the promised $100 billion a year for climate action in developing counties, and to scale up funding for adaptation to at least 50% of total public climate finance.
“We are not yet there. But today, a few countries, namely Sweden and Denmark, have announced commitments of 50% or more, and I think that this idea that developing countries are already suffering so much, that it’s not enough to support them in reduction of emissions, it’s necessary to support them in building resilience for their communities, for their infrastructure. I believe that this 50% might gain traction, but we are still not yet there.”
He called on developed countries to take the lead and for several emerging economies to “go the extra mile and to effectively contribute to emissions reductions.”
Unvaccinated Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he will deliver the opening speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tuesday, despite rules requiring him to be vaccinated to be in the assembly hall.
Bolsonaro, who traveled to New York City late Sunday afternoon, previously said in a live broadcast on his social media that he wouldn’t get vaccinated before attending the UNGA.
“Why do you take a vaccine? To have antibodies, right? My antibodies rate is really high. I can show you the document,” the president said.
Bolsonaro then claimed that a vaccine such as CoronaVac would not be effective for him and added, “I will decide my future after everyone in Brazil gets the vaccine.”
The UN is not barring anyone from entering the UNGA, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told CNN Sunday.
Dujarric explained to reporters Friday that “the honor system, as laid out by the President of the General Assembly, says that, by swiping a badge to enter the General Assembly Hall, delegates attest that they are fully vaccinated, that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the last ten days, have no symptoms.”
Dujarric also said Thursday that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has limited jurisdiction in imposing New York City vaccine mandate protocols for member states representatives attending the UNGA’s 76th meeting. He also noted Thursday that he’s “working with the sitting President of the General Assembly to continue that honor system [of vaccinations] in a way that is acceptable for all.”
The spokesperson added that the UN has taken several mitigation measures including implementing mandatory mask usage, mandatory vaccination for UN staff and limiting the delegation size in the General Assembly hall to ensure that the high level meeting is as safe as possible.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday offered a broad preview of President Biden’s upcoming speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Psaki was asked by CNN how the President plans to restore credibility at the UN this week.
She said the audience will hear him “lay out the case for why the next decade will determine our future, not just for the United States, but for the global community. And he will talk – and this will be a central part of his remarks – about the importance of reestablishing our alliances over the last several years,” Psaki said.
She argued that reestablishing those alliances “doesn’t mean that you won’t have disagreements.”
The goal of reestablishing those alliances, Psaki added, is “increasing the prospect of security and diminishing the prospect of war.”
“He’ll also make clear that for many of the greatest concerns we have, they cannot be solved or even addressed with the force of arms, whether that is preparing for the next pandemic … addressing the threat of climate change … leveling the economic playing field, fighting for democracy at home and abroad, and against threats ranging from cyber security to emerging technologies to terrorism. Finally, he will also reaffirm that the United States is not turning inward,” she continued, specifically pointing to the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Psaki added that the President “will talk about his objective of turning our focus and our resources to the priorities in regions of the world that are most consequential.”
Responding to CNN’s question about restoring credibility, she later asserted that “criticism of a decision is different from criticism of the credibility in leadership of the United States, broadly speaking.”
“We are committed to those alliances, and that always requires work, from every president, from every global leader, and his commitment is to make sure we are directing our energy, our resources and our efforts on the biggest challenges we’re facing in the world,” Psaki said.
The United Nations General Assembly has not exactly gotten off to a unified start.
Despite a letter from the US encouraging member states to call in virtually and help avoid creating “a super spreader event,” the speaker schedule for the General Debate — which begins on Tuesday — shows more than 100 heads of state and government coming in person, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and US President Biden.
Even Korean pop icons BTS are flaunting the advice to stay home, with the boy band booked to make an appearance at the United Nations headquarters on Monday.
New York City requires proof of Covid-19 vaccination for indoor gatherings — a rule local authorities have asked the UN to follow. To facilitate compliance, a one-shot vaccination station will even be set up on-site. But visiting dignitaries are not proving entirely cooperative.
Brazil and Russia are already giving their local hosts a poke in the eye, vocally rejecting the health requirement. “We strongly object that only people with a proof of vaccination should be admitted to the GA hall,” wrote Russia’s UN representative Vassily Nebenzia in a letter to the organization, according to state news agency TASS. Nebenzia also noted that not all countries use the vaccines approved in New York.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro threw down the gauntlet on social media, declaring point-blank on Thursday that he would not get vaccinated before the General Debate. He is due to address the assembly in person on Tuesday morning, in Brazil’s traditional role as the first speaker.
The UN has said it trusts in a vaccination “honor system.”
