Biden to Address UN General Assembly Amid Global Divisions |
Speaking in New York today, U.S. President Joe Biden is the only leader (NYT) of a permanent UN Security Council member to attend this year’s General Assembly. China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom are all sending envoys rather than heads of state. Divisions over how to respond to Russia’s war in Ukraine and how to meet the economic and climate-related needs of low-income countries loom over this year’s summit discussions. UN Secretary-General António Guterres told CNN yesterday that while he lacks power and money, the United Nations remains useful for raising awareness and convening diverse actors.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be absent from the assembly, while Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will attend and speak (AP) on the heels of a prisoner swap deal with Washington and ongoing concerns about Tehran’s military ties to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also in New York and is expected to address the UN forum to shore up more support for Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Moscow.
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“The big powers that shape U.N. diplomacy are focused elsewhere, and it is hard to forge agreements on long-term global problems in an era of war and hot crises," the International Crisis Group’s Richard Gowan tells CBS News.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine laid bare the impotence of the Security Council to deliver on its primary goal of maintaining international peace, and reinvigorated long-standing calls for reform. The problem is, the Security Council’s ills are a feature, not a bug,” Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer, Amy Mackinnon, and Avian Muñoz write.
This Backgrounder looks at the UN General Assembly.
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Canada Probes Alleged Indian Government Link to Killing of Sikh Leader |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his security agencies are pursuing “credible allegations” (CBC) of a potential link between “agents of the Indian government” and the June killing of Sikh leader and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India’s government called the allegations “absurd.” Both countries have ordered the expulsion of a diplomat from the other.
Guatemala: Supporters of president-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León protested yesterday (Al Jazeera) in Guatemala City, calling for the results of the election to be respected. The attorney general’s office launched an investigation into Arévalo’s party after the June vote and raided the party’s headquarters as well as electoral offices. International observers have denounced these efforts to interfere with the ballot’s results.
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Chinese, Russian Top Diplomats Kick off Four Days of Talks in Moscow |
Beijing’s top diplomat said the two countries will work together (AP) toward a “multipolar world” at the outset of the talks yesterday. Their meeting comes on the heels of U.S.-China talks in Malta this weekend, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia the week before.
France/Japan: The two countries have begun (Nikkei) their first joint military drills, including live fire drills, in the Pacific. Next week, they will simulate operations in civilian areas.
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HRW: Sri Lankan Government Actions Undermine Postwar Truth and Reconciliation Efforts |
State security forces’ surveillance and intimidation of activists from minority Tamil families are undermining supposed state efforts to seek truth and reconciliation for abuses during Sri Lanka’s civil war, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.
India: The government is expected to introduce and endorse (Times of India) a bill for a gender quota in state and national legislatures today. The bill would require that a third of all legislative seats go to women. If passed, the law would go into effect by 2029.
This episode of Why It Matters explores the gap in female representation in politics.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Five Formerly Detained Americans Arrive on U.S. Soil Following Deal With Iran |
Five Americans formerly detained in Iran were freed (CNN) after the completion of a deal yesterday that also saw $6 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen and the United States drop charges (NYT) against five Iranians. The deal follows years of indirect negotiations during a tense time in U.S.-Iran relations.
This timeline by CFR’s Kali Robinson tracks U.S.-Iran relations. Libya: Hundreds of protesters in the city of Derna called for the removal of authorities (NYT) more than a week after heavy rains and flooding destroyed the city, killing thousands of people.
This article by CFR’s Noah Berman and Sabine Baumgartner looks at Libya’s flood amid a season of weather extremes. |
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UN Probe: Grave Violations in Ethiopia Have Continued Despite Truce |
Even after a November 2022 cease-fire in Ethiopia’s war, hostilities persist in the country on a national scale, and Eritrean forces continue to commit sexual and gender-based violence, a UN-commissioned probe said in a new report [PDF].
Somalia/EU: The European Union (EU) temporarily froze funding for the UN World Food Program in Somalia after a UN probe found widespread theft and misuse of aid, two EU officials told Reuters.
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Ukraine Dismisses All Six Deputy Defense Ministers |
While Kyiv authorities did not give official reasons (NYT) for the shake-up in the country’s defense team, it comes amid a Ukrainian crackdown on corruption. Ukraine replaced its defense minister two weeks ago.
Germany: The interior minister banned the neo-Nazi group (DW, DPA, AFP) Hammerskins Deutschland, an offshoot of a U.S. white supremacist organization. Police also raided the apartments of suspected members in ten German states.
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Council on Foreign Relations |
58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 |
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