New York, September 25 – The hall of the United Nations General Assembly was nearly empty when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the annual session and called for unity to defeat the pandemic. Minutes later the presidents of the United States and China took turn to appear on TV screens which played their pre-recorded speeches filled with accusations.
The September-October session each year had been a signature event for the UN for over seven decades, which had seen thousands of diplomats from presidents, prime ministers and royalties to diplomats representing the 193 UN member states dutifully attending the event.
The pandemic suddenly changed all the planned events and travels. World leaders stayed home and sent pre-recorded speeches to be broadcast to the assembly where just 193 diplomats occupied the seats reserved for their respective countries compared with the nearly 2,000 people that came every year before.
“In a world turned upside down, this General Assembly hall is among the strangest sights of all,” Guterres said. “The Covid-19 pandemic changed our annual meeting beyond recognition. But it has made it more important than ever.”
The US-China verbal fight brought back Cold War memories even though both sides denied they had any intention of reviving the divisive and threatening period that divide East and West. But President Donald Trump used the opportunity to blast Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We have waged a fierce battle against the invisible enemy – the China virus – which had claimed countless lives in 188 countries,” Trump said and demanded that the UN hold China accountable for the pandemic. He also criticized China for a host of environmental problems.
Xi defended his country’s achievements in controlling Covid-19 and offered financial support to UN-related programs fighting the pandemic.
Close to 200 governments and organizations registered to speak virtually to the assembly session September 23-19 under the theme “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism – confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action”.
More speakers took part in so-called high-level meetings on women, the pandemic, biodiversity for sustainable development and other UN programs.
The streets and areas surrounding the UN headquarters in mid-town Manhattan were mostly silent of presidential motorcades and police sirens. Traffic jams, closure of streets and protests were things of previous years. The UN headquarters have exercised utmost health restraints imposed by New York State under Covid-19, including social distancing, wearing of facial masks and keeping the staff at 20 per cent of capacity.
UN 75th anniversary
The United Nations was established in June 1945 during the last months of World War II after its Charter, or constitution, was adopted by some 50 countries led mostly by World War II victors who met in San Francisco beginning in March to lay out the foundation of a new international organization to promote peace, fundamental human rights and justice. The Charter came into effect on October 24, 1945.
The 75th anniversary was celebrated on September 21 just before the start of the UN General Assembly. The pandemic and strict health regulations to fight infections have canceled or postponed most meetings at UN headquarters except for those of the UN Security Council.
“Today we face our own 1945 moment,” Guterres told the assembly session referring to the pandemic’s severe damage and high number of deaths. “This pandemic is a crisis unlike any we have seen. But it is also this kind of crisis that we will see in different forms again and again.”
He called for united global efforts to fight the pandemic and to continue to implement UN programs around the world.