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What to know as world leaders converge at the United Nations this week
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Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics As leaders gather at United Nations, here's what to know United Nations head António Guterres returns to New York for his final U.N. General Assembly as diplomacy falters over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the global body faces deep divisions. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks at the opening of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 8. Guterres will attend his last high-level week as secretary-general. Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images hide caption
World leaders are gathering at the United Nations headquarters in New York this week "in an era of deep uncertainty," says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
This is Guterres' final General Assembly high-level week, as his term ends at the end of the year.
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He's also pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine, well into the fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion.
U.N. watchers, however, are not expecting major breakthroughs on these topics. Here's what we will be watching.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to address the world body on Wednesday, a day after President Trump's speech — and nearly seven months after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February. The U.S. State Department says the Iranian delegation will be smaller than last year. The U.S. did not give everyone visas. Iranian officials will have strict limits on where they can go and what they can buy, enforced by diplomatic security agents. It is not clear if any will meet with Trump administration officials. The U.N. secretary-general has been trying to negotiate an opening of the Strait of Hormuz for fertilizer, though those efforts have not gained traction.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on the speakers list for Wednesday, too, and his European allies are trying to rally support as the country heads into another winter of war. Russia uses its veto power on the U.N. Security Council to block any meaningful role for the U.N.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has not attended the General Assembly for over a decade. Instead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to give an address on Sept. 26 — and meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the event earlier in the week.
For a second year in a row, the Trump administration denied a visa for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation. The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to criticize that move and to allow Abbas, again, to deliver his statement via video. His prerecorded speech is scheduled to be delivered Thursday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the midst of an election campaign, will take advantage of his 15 minutes on the world stage — later Thursday — to defend his record on Iran and Gaza. Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said Netanyahu will "proudly address the General Assembly," despite planned protests. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he has no plans to attend those protests, though he had earlier suggested that Netanyahu should be arrested for an International Criminal Court warrant. The Trump administration dismissed that and is promising to continue its campaign to undermine the court in the Hague.
About 120 leaders and senior representatives are gathering at the United Nations this week, but there will be some key players missing. The leaders of India, Germany and South Africa are expected to skip and send other senior representatives in their place. China's Xi Jinping, who only attended in 2015 and spoke via video during the COVID pandemic-era UNGA in 2020, will do the same, even though he's expected at the White House on Thursday.
"You're going to have the leaders of China in the U.S. meeting in Washington and then, on the other hand, you're going to have leaders of smaller countries continuing to give speeches in a pretty empty General Assembly hall. And I think that in itself could actually send a bit of a message about where power really lies," Gowan told NPR.
Just 8 1/2 months since the U.S. military swept into Caracas to oust and arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, his then vice president and now interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, will make her U.N. debut Thursday afternoon. As Rodríguez addresses the U.N., Maduro remains in U.S. custody, just a few miles from U.N. headquarters. President Trump plans to meet with Rodríguez on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told reporters. Rodríguez recently announced a major oil deal with the Trump administration, giving the Pentagon a stake in Venezuelan oil fields. Secretary of State Rubio called it a unique opportunity that will benefit the U.S. and "produce royalties and revenue that will ultimately go into the hands of Venezuelan authorities, but a democratically elected Venezuela in the future." President Trump has said Venezuela is not ready for elections.
The U.N. Security Council has held three straw polls on the candidates in the running to replace Secretary-General Guterres. So far, there has been no consensus, though Costa Rica's former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan and Guyana's former Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett are among the front-runners.
The U.S. State Department will only say that the next secretary-general "must get the U.N. back to basics and publicly commit to the changes we require." As a veto holder, the U.S. can block candidates. It could take time for the divided Security Council to agree on a candidate that would be sent for a vote in the General Assembly. The deadline is the end of the year, which is the end of Guterres' term, and more candidates could still enter the race.
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− He'll give opening remarks to start the event Tuesday morning, followed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — as Brazil speaks first by tradition — and then President Trump.
+ He'll give the opening remarks Tuesday morning, followed by the rotating president of the General Assembly, Bangladesh.
− The packed schedule of other leaders and top officials runs through Sept.
+ Once the general debate kicks off, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will deliver his address — as Brazil goes first by tradition — and then comes President Trump.
+ The packed schedule of speeches by other leaders and top officials, as well as meetings on the sidelines, runs through Sept.
− Guterres told reporters last week that he will use his meetings with world leaders to push for de-escalation in the Middle East and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway.
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+ looking for wins after a rough week Guterres told reporters last week that he will use his meetings with world leaders to push for de-escalation in the Middle East and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway.
− "There's going to be a bit of a split-screen moment," says Richard Gowan, director for global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, a think tank focused on conflict prevention.
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+ vs. China: Inside a great power rivalry Big questions - and key logistical details - loom ahead of China-U.S. summit "There's going to be a bit of a split-screen moment," says Richard Gowan, director for global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, a think tank focused on conflict prevention.