UN Chief Opens General Assembly

Putin, without naming the United States, accused Washington of trying to enforce its will on others and mulling a possible reform of the U.N., which he suggested stands in the way of the perceived US domination.

– The 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly kicked off on Monday.

By tradition, each year, the Secretary-General draws lots to select which among the UN’s 193 Member States will occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall throughout the yearlong session. “I value your friendship; I value your counsel”. For this year’s debate, around 150 world leaders will fly down to discuss issues like sustainable development, climate change, refugee crisis, terrorism and tackling ISIS.

President Barack Obama is warning U.N member nations of the risks of failing to work together to solve world problems. Ban said dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the Syrian conflict was not just about keeping people alive but “giving them a life” and required greater generosity of all nations. Over the past several weeks, Putin has increased Russian military aid to Syria, bolstering Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Ban nodded toward the party of officials from Iran sitting in the assembly. They quickly put on their headphones to hear the translation of what he was saying.

However, he noted that there were two successes this year with the world response to the Ebola crisis and he praised the pact on nuclear power that world powers reached with Iran.

Numerous leaders have already participated in the three-day UN Sustainable Development Summit that launched the 2030 Agenda. “China will shoulder its share of responsibility and China will continue to play its part in this common endeavor”.

The peaceful world is under threat from “the outlaws of Islam”, he said, who “target religious differences hoping to kill cooperation and compassion”. The United Nations is an organization that we all cannot afford to live without. “The slow recovery of the world economy and the end of the commodities super cycle have had a negative impact on our growth“, the president said, vowing to “reorganize the fiscal framework while reducing inflation, consolidating macroeconomic stability and increasing confidence”. “We have to fight them not only in the media, but also on the ground”. The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993, spell out which areas of the West Bank are controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

“We do it efficiently, which is different from others, who only talk about fighting ISIL”, Fabius said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.