Global perspective Human stories

UN General Assembly 73rd Session

Special Coverage of the 73rd General Debate
25 September-1 October 2018

As world leaders gather in New York in the coming days, the curtain will rise on the busiest diplomatic season of the year at United Nations Headquarters.

Here, UN News gives you a front row seat to all the action during the General Assembly’s annual; high-level segment, known as the general debate. Follow monarchs, presidents and prime ministers, as they define global responses to many of today’s pressing challenges, including climate change, international migration, protracted conflicts, and extreme poverty and hunger.

UN News/Matt Wells

Multilateralism is ‘under siege’ in a world where ‘collective response’ is vital: Deputy UN chief

When it comes to tackling migration, climate change or seemingly intractable conflicts, the doctrine of collective responsibility, embodied by the UN, is the only way forward, according to Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

She spoke to Conor Lennon, in the UN’s VIP Social Media Studio – where dozens of world leaders have been taking part in Facebook Live interviews during High-Level week – who asked her what should be done to strengthen multilateralism.

Audio
6'55"
UNEP

Fight against climate change presents ‘fantastic opportunities’: UN Environment chief

A focus on the benefits of fighting climate change is one of the best ways to engage more people.

This is the message that Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), has been spreading at UN Headquarters in New York during High-Level week at the General Assembly.

Conor Lennon spoke to Mr. Solheim in the UN’s VIP Social Media Studio and asked what needs to be done to make climate change, one of the biggest challenges facing humanity, a day-to-day political priority.

Audio
8'39"
President Donald Trump of the United States addresses the seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly.
UN Photo/Cia Pak

US President Trump rejects globalism in speech to UN General Assembly’s annual debate

Taking the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, the world Organization that embodies greater global cooperation, United States President Donald Trump told scores of Heads of State and Government on Tuesday that his country rejects the ideology of globalism, both generally and in relation to international justice and the migration crisis.