Amidst worsening global crises and accelerating political, military, and economic developments, the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) begins Tuesday in New York, where the issues of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, climate, and epidemics top the agenda, in an attempt to address these complex challenges.
UNGA 79 includes various high-level events, led by the general discussion sessions, which will begin on Sep. 24 and run until Sep. 28, concluding on Sep. 30.
World leaders will gather for the General Debate at this session under the theme “Unity in Diversity for Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity,” to discuss pressing issues such as peace and security, sustainable development, climate action, and international cooperation.
The session also includes holding the Future Summit on Sep. 22-23 under the slogan “Future Summit: Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow,” which comes to emphasize the urgent need to enhance international cooper
ation to address several challenges such as climate change, poverty, and inequality, while addressing the effects of ongoing conflicts and global health crises.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will organize two working days in the lead-up to the Summit to mobilize stakeholders to drive meaningful and long-term action in support of the outcomes of the upcoming conference: the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations.
UNGA 79 agenda also includes three high-level events, including the high-level plenary meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise on Sep. 25, where participants will work to develop comprehensive solutions and implementable commitments to combat sea-level rise and ensure a resilient and sustainable future, including for small island developing states and low-lying coastal areas.
The second event is the high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear
Weapons on Sep. 26, which aims to raise awareness of the threat posed by nuclear weapons to humanity and the need to eliminate them.
The third event is the high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance on Sep. 26 under the title ‘Investing in the Present and Securing Our Future Together: Accelerating Multi-sectoral Global, Regional, and National Actions to Address Anti-microbial Resistance.’ Regarding key issues and files anticipated to be discussed during the UNGS 79, Professor of international relations, security, and defense at the Ibn Khaldon Center of Qatar University Dr. Ali Bakir told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that various significant and vital topics that affect international peace and security would be discussed, including climate change and strategies to reduce emissions that cause global warming, implementing sustainable development goals, and discussing the resolution of ongoing conflicts, disputes, and wars in different parts of the world, including the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the R
ussian-Ukrainian war, efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and prevent their proliferation, global health and strengthening health systems, human rights and violations of these rights, and other important topics on the international agenda.
Regarding the tragic conditions in the Gaza Strip in particular, and in Palestine and the Middle East in general, and the extent of their presence in the leaders’ speeches, discussions, and activities of the session, and what the UN session will add to this worsening humanitarian crisis, Dr. Ali Bakir said that the UNGA is an international platform for presenting and discussing the basic issues in the world and seeking to take decisions on how to deal with them. In this context, this session represents a new opportunity to re-shed light on the basic issues and main challenges in the Middle East, especially the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and the open crises in the region such as Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and other countr
ies in the region, and the main challenges in security, food, water, medicine, education, and other urgent issues.
He pointed out that the main question is to what extent will things be different this time from previous times. Will there be a genuine breakthrough in the nature and mechanism of dealing with these challenges? Dr. Ali Bakir voiced his belief that the level of optimism about the important role of international organizations in addressing these crises is almost at its lowest levels among peoples, if not absent altogether.
Source: Qatar News Agency