UN General Assembly opens amid wars, reform push and rising AI fears

World leaders are meeting at the United Nations as wars, reform and AI fears dominate the agenda. The gathering will test whether strained multilateralism can still deliver cooperation in a deeply polarised world.

In Short

• Around 130 leaders will speak as multilateral cooperation faces severe strain
• Security Council reform has broad backing, but implementation remains politically difficult
• Trump’s budget payment eased arrears pressure and preserved US voting rights

World leaders will gather at the United Nations this week under the shadow of wars, deep political divisions and rising concern over artificial intelligence, even as climate shocks and increasing prices continue to make life harder for hundreds of millions of people. The annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly is expected to focus on conflicts, the cost of living, global warming, inequality and the growing strain on international institutions.

The future of the United Nations itself is also set to be a major theme. The organisation’s 193 member states have agreed to a broad reform package, including changes to key bodies such as the Security Council, where the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France hold veto power. But while the case for reform is strong, putting it in place remains difficult. There is also quiet speculation over who will succeed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when his second five-year term ends on December 31.

Even so, the UN remains the main forum where the world’s nations meet. Around 130 heads of state and government are expected to address the General Assembly from Tuesday, along with dozens of ministers. Among the main speakers will be US President Donald Trump and French President Emanuel Macron, both due to speak on Tuesday after Guterres delivers his opening “state of the world” address. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address the Assembly on Thursday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend in person for a second straight year because the US has refused to grant him a visa, but he is expected to speak by video the same day. Under its agreement with the UN to host the organisation, the United States is required to allow diplomats from all member states to attend meetings.

Who is not attending is also drawing attention. Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the gathering and sending a vice president instead, even as he is due to meet Trump in Washington on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also not attend, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed out. France’s UN ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, said it is “extremely critical” for world leaders this week to support the UN as the place where the world’s nations meet, especially at a time of such polarisation. “We believe in multilateralism,” he said, “and we believe that the high-level week is the occasion for countries in the world to reaffirm that they prefer cooperation and dialogue to confrontation.”

The meeting comes after a difficult year for the world body. The UN has struggled to shape efforts to end major conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, despite its central role in maintaining international peace and security. Its finances have also been under pressure because the US has not paid billions of dollars in arrears.

Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said 2025 had been even worse for the organisation. A year earlier, he said, there had been fears that Trump might use his UN speech to announce that the US would leave the body. That did not happen, and while the UN managed to get through the past 12 months, its money problems forced cuts to peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid. In recent days, the US paid USD 725 million towards the UN’s regular operating budget for this year, enough to stop the Trump administration from losing its vote in the General Assembly. Gowan said the payment was a strong sign that Trump would keep the US in the organisation. The UN is no longer “in freefall”, he said, but it “is stuck in an open-ended or permanent crisis”. He added: “The UN may not be in emergency care like it was last year, but it does seem to be trapped in a trauma centre for the foreseeable future.”

Former UN deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch-Brown said, “While the world still trusts the UN, the global public is eager for change.”

Artificial intelligence is also moving to the centre of the agenda. With rapid advances in the technology and no meaningful industry checks or global rules in place, concerns have grown over both its benefits and its risks. Days before the gathering, the heads of three major AI companies warned that the technology could go beyond human control and called for a pause. Trump rejected those concerns as “a hoax” and urged continued progress to keep the US ahead of China.

The Security Council has added a high-level meeting on AI to Wednesday afternoon’s agenda, underlining the growing unease around the issue. It was already due to hold a high-level meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday morning with Zelenskyy taking part. For Guterres, this will be his final Assembly session with world leaders as secretary-general. Previewing his speech last week, he told UN reporters that power is shifting in “an era of deep uncertainty”. “At a time when the world faces three existential threats,” he said, “international cooperation is more necessary than ever.”

Alongside the main debates, other leaders and delegates are expected to push issues such as rising sea levels, education funding and gender equality. Hundreds of private meetings are also expected in UN offices, hotels, diplomatic missions and restaurants across New York. Esther Brimmer, a senior fellow in global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former US assistant secretary of state for international organisation affairs, said face-to-face meetings can help countries work through ideas that are implemented months later. She described the situation in 2026 as “much more serious and complex than in decades past”. “With that said, I’m also not without hope as well,” Brimmer said. “Over the past decades we’ve learned a lot about international cooperation.”

As leaders meet at the UN this week, the agenda will span war, climate change, economic strains, institutional reform and the risks posed by AI. The gathering is taking place at a time of sharp global tensions, but it remains the main platform for countries to press their positions, hold talks and test whether cooperation is still possible.

With PTI Inputs

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