New York, September 21 – US President Joe Biden pledged to work with the United Nations to build a future and uphold human rights for all in his first speech to UN General Assembly that captured the attention of world diplomats who met in person for the first time since the pandemic locked down the world almost two years ago.
The 193-nation assembly opened a week-long general debate on the world situation subdued by climate change’s devastations, wildfires, flooding and the Covid-19 virus that has killed more than 4.5 million people worldwide. More than 100 heads of state and government have registered to speak, but about 60 of them will deliver their speeches in pre-recorded videos.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his speech opening the debate that the world is on “the edge of abyss — and moving in the wrong direction. I’m here to sound the alarm. The world must wake up.”
He said the lack of unity among the international community and mistrust between world powers have contributed to the current worsening situation.
“Geopolitical divisions are undermining international cooperation and limiting the capacity of the UN Security Council to take the necessary decisions.,” he said.
“At the same time, it will be impossible to address dramatic economic and development challenges while the world’s two largest economies are at odds with each other,” Guterres said referring to the US-China competition in world affairs.
“Yet I fear our world is creeping towards two different sets of economic, trade, financial, and technology rules, two divergent approaches in the development of artificial intelligence — and ultimately two different military and geo-political strategies.
“This is a recipe for trouble. It would be far less predictable than the Cold War.”
Biden said in his 34-minute speech that the world is at “an inflection point in history” but he said the US is not seeking a new Cold War.
“The future belongs to those who give their people the ability to breathe free, not those who seek to suffocate their people with an iron hand authoritarianism,” he said. “The authoritarians of the world, they seek to proclaim the end of the age of democracy, but they’re wrong.”
Biden said his administration intend to “compete vigorously and lead with our values and our strength to stand up for our allies and our friends.”
“We’re not seeking — say it again, we are not seeking — a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs,” he said.
Biden said his administration is addressing all challenging issues, from climate change, the pandemic and global vaccines, which are on the agenda of the UN General Assembly. World diplomats are to attend other meetings on the sidelines of the assembly session with summits on climate and the global food systems.
“This year has also brought widespread death and devastation from the borderless climate crisis,” Biden said. “Extreme weather events that we’ve 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.”
On the pandemic, he said, “We need a collective act of science and political will. We need to act now to get shots in arms as fast as possible, and expand access to oxygen, tests, treatments, to save lives around the world.”
Before ending his speech, Biden urged the international community to work together for a better world. “Let’s make our future, now. We can do it. It’s in our power and capability.”
Speakers on the first day of the General Assembly included the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, whose country by tradition is the first speaker at every annual assembly session since the UN was established in 1945. Other countries include Maldives, Colombia, Qatar, Portugal, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Iran, South Korea, Switzerland and China.
The assembly’s president, Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives, opened debate by challenging delegates to rise to the occasion. “There are moments in time that are turning points,” he said. “This is one such moment.”
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