UNGA77

India was represented at the opening of the 77th General Assembly by Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who reminded his audience that India is celebrating 75 years of independence, which he described as a story of the “toil, determination, innovation, and enterprise of millions of ordinary Indians”. 

Faced with the “inability” of Western countries to negotiate and the Ukrainian Government’s “war against its own people” in the east, Russia had “no choice” but to launch what the Government refers to as its special military operation, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

State Secretary of the Holy See Pietro Parolin urged world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Saturday to work together for peace, “born of encounter and dialogue” not weapons or fear.

Authorities in Mali are moving along the path to political transition and institutional reform while combating terrorism and other insecurity, Acting Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga said in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Saturday. 

Micheál Martin, the head of the Irish Government, used his General Assembly speech on Thursday to express his frustration at the “Security Council’s failure to act” in tackling a range of peace and security issues.

Iraq represents a living example of how hope prevails over seemingly impossible odds, especially conflict and political crises, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi told the UN General Assembly on Friday, and while the nascent democracy still needed international support, it is looking to its younger generations to keep the spirit of hope and courage alive.

“Every war is a denial of humanity,” European Council President Charles Michel told the UN General Assembly on Friday, condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he said has threatened hundreds of millions of people with starvation, heat deprivation or energy constraints.

Senior UN officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, took part in a High-Level event at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, noting the encouraging progress that has been made towards ending the COVID-19 pandemic, while acknowledging that work still needs to be done to ensure the most vulnerable are protected.

With huge swathes of his country still under water following recent devastating floods, Pakistan’s Prime Minister appealed on Friday for global support to help his country face the consequences of a climate catastrophe the likes of which it has never seen before.