Three Big Takeaways from Biden's Farewell UN Address

Plus: Guterres coins a new geopolitical phrase

A picture is worth a thousand Security Council reform proposals. Credit Oxfam/ Miles Giordani

What happens when hundreds of Presidents and Prime ministers gather together in the midst of an escalating war in the world’s most volatile region? This week at the United Nations we will find out.

The split screen of grand addresses at the UN General Assembly and the latest barrage between Israel and Hezbollah is a dichotomy that is impossible to ignore. It very much set the tone for the parade of speeches delivered by world leaders, known as the General Debate, which kicked off this morning in New York.

Antonio Guterres acknowledged this in his opening remarks. “The state of our world is unsustainable,” he said. “We can’t go on like this.” Interestingly, Guterres opted to focus the opening of his remarks on the ways in which impunity is a key driver of unsustainability, connecting willful violations of international law and the UN Charter to the chaos in the world today, including the Middle East. “The level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable,” he said, suggesting that the wholesale destruction of Gaza may lead to a similar outcome in Lebanon. “Gaza is a non-stop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it. Look no further than Lebanon. We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world – cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” he said.

Guterres’ entire speech is worth a read. He covers a lot of ground: climate change, sustainable development, artificial intelligence, and much, much more. But one thing I’d highlight is his diagnosis of geopolitics today.

For all its perils, the Cold War had rules. There were hot lines, red lines and guard rails. It can feel as though we don’t have that today.

Nor do we have a unipolar world. We are moving to a multipolar world, but we are not there yet. We are in a purgatory of polarity. And in this purgatory, more and more countries are filling the spaces of geopolitical divides, doing whatever they want with no accountability. 

“Purgatory of polarity” — I like that line. It’s an accurate and punchy way to describe the geopolitical shifts underway today. In a time of great global change, having some guiding principles can help reduce uncertainties and the world wars that have historically accompanied shifts in the global balance of power. To that end, Guterres asserted that countries must recommit to international law. “It is more important than ever to reaffirm the Charter, to respect international law, to support and implement decisions of international courts, and to reinforce human rights,” he said.

Three Takeaways from Biden’s UN Speech

When President Biden approached the General Assembly dais, I expected a bit of a historical tour of his 50-year career in public service. He delivered on that. I also expected him to speak directly to the three most urgent conflicts today: the widening conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the crisis in Sudan. He addressed those crises as well.

What I did not expect was the sheer optimism that punctuated his United Nations address.