The showcase of every UNGA is what is formally known around the UN as the “General Debate.” This is the parade of presidents and prime ministers who take the dais before the UN General Assembly, delivering sometimes fiery speeches to a global audience.
The General Debate always follows a familiar pattern. On a Tuesday, the new President of the General Assembly speaks first, followed by the Secretary-General. By tradition, Brazil is the first country to speak, and then comes the United States. After that, the schedule changes year by year, with speaking slots earlier in the week reserved for Heads of State (HS in the schedule) and Heads of Government (HG). Only after all the heads of state and government have spoken are lower-level officials, like foreign ministers, given their time.
Some speeches are more high-profile than others. This year, there are nine world leaders whose speeches I’ll be following particularly closely. The first (of course) is Trump. While Trump is always somewhat unpredictable, there are a few global issues we can reasonably expect in his speech: the Gaza conflict, Ukraine — and, of course, he’ll likely tout his tariffs.
Outside the obvious themes, I’ll be zeroing in on three specific aspects of Trump’s speech.
Will he fillet the SDGs? The Sustainable Development Goals are very much the beating heart of the UN. All member states adopted them back in 2015 and today, the SDGs provide a framework for pretty much everything the UN does around ending extreme poverty, and promoting public health and environmental protection. But earlier this year, the Trump administration stunned the UN by declaring that it “rejects and denounces” the SDGs. This is an extremely unpopular position—the rest if the UN’s 192 member states very much support them. I’ll be watching to see if Trump himself invokes the “rejects and denounces” paradigm, and what, if anything, he’ll say about the SDGs.
How deep will he lean into culture war issues? The Trump administration’s animous towards the SDGs stems from a perception that they are used to advance cultural causes like gender equality, reproductive health and LGBTQ rights in ways that contravene cultural conservatism. (Though here it should be noted that deeply conservative countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia have not directed animous towards the SDGs as a whole in the same way as the United States under Trump). In various UN bodies, the United States has objected to erstwhile routine affirmations of women’s and human rights, arguing that these affirmations advance a cultural agenda to which the US now objects. In the context of a growing fervor in some quarters of American politics, I’m watching to see the extent to which he leans into these culture war issues in his speech.
Will he take credit for peace deals? Trump raised eyebrows over the summer when he claimed credit for six peace deals in his first six months in office. (Here’s an apparent list.) Notably, his claiming credit for ending the India-Pakistan conflict this spring seems to have caused a severe rupture of American-Indian relations. Meanwhile, the DRC-Rwanda conflict which Trump claims to have ended is very much still hot, with Reuters reporting just last week that the killing is ongoing, with both sides digging in amid missed ceasefire deadlines. Some countries seem more welcoming of President Trump’s public interventions (like Armenia and Azerbaijan) while others, like India, are not. I’m watching to see the extent to which Trump leans into his self-described peacemaker role, and if he leverages that to make any bold statements on Gaza and Ukraine.
But UNGA is about much more than Trump! Here are 8 other speeches I’m Most Anticipating
Below the fold for paying subscribers is something of a cheat sheet for 8 other world leaders whose speeches I think will be particularly resonant this year, including Brazil, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine, Iran, Syria, Palestine and Israel. To understand why I think these remarks in particular may shape the debate at UNGA this year, please purchase a subscription. You’d be supporting my work and help cover the costs associated with my UNGA coverage.
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