The UN General Assembly (UNGA) 78th session has kicked off in New York with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s presentation of the Report of the Secretary-General on the performance of the Organization, according to a media report on Wednesday.
Guterres highlighted the dire challenges facing the world, exemplified by the recent devastating floods in Derna, Libya. These challenges include climate change, geopolitical tensions, and a lack of global cooperation.
He emphasised the need for strong, effective multilateral institutions that reflect the current world order and work towards equity and universality.
He underscores the deepening divides among economic and military powers, as well as North-South and East-West disparities, which risk causing a rupture in global systems.
Guterres then calls for the reform of institutions like the UN Security Council and the Bretton Woods system to better represent the contemporary world.
Within countries, democracy is threatened, authoritarianism is on the rise, inequalities are growing, and hate speech is increasing.
Guterres calls for statesmanship and compromise to address these challenges. He acknowledged the promise of multilateral action in recent global agreements related to biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development. However, the humanitarian system is strained, and conflicts persist in various regions
. Ahead of the UNGA meeting launch, UNAMA Head Roza Otunbayeva held meeting with acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi regarding the UNGA meeting.
Like last year, Afghanistan is not invited to the UNGA meeting this year as well and its seat in the multilateral forum remained empty.
Last year, acting Afghan government sent a letter to the UNGA and appointed its Qatar Office political aide Sohail Shaheen as its representative but the UN rejected the acting government offer.
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