Building Resilience through Hope: UN General Assembly Roundup
This past week the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) hosted its annual high-level general debate as part of the UNGA 76th session themed “Building Resilience through Hope.” Here is a roundup.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE UNGA THIS PAST WEEK?
This past week the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) hosted its annual high-level general debate as part of the UNGA 76th session themed “Building Resilience through Hope” which began on 14th September, 2021. Over several days, heads of states and government addressed the Assembly, highlighting key issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, sustainability, and security.
WHAT IS THE UNGA?
The UN General Assembly is the main policy-making organ of the UN. The General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the UN, and the only one made up of all member states. It serves as the main deliberative, policy making and representative organ of the UN which makes recommendations on subjects pertaining to international peace and security, including development, disarmament, human rights, international law, and arbitration of disputes between nations. The resolutions made by the General Assembly are non-binding on states unlike those of the Security Council, however they put on record the UN’s thoughts on world issues and can be great motivators for action.
The UNGA is also responsible for key tasks such as;
Appointing the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council,
Electing the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and
Assessing the financial situation of member states.
THE BIG HEADLINES FROM THIS YEAR’S HIGH-LEVEL WEEK
The second week of the UN General Assembly is referred to as the “High-level week” or “UNGA week” because this is when world leaders make speeches. Along-side the general debate, other UN organs, committees and groups also held meetings and side events, such as the UN Security Council meeting on Climate and Security which highlighted the importance of climate change to security issues, the High-level Dialogue on Energy and the World Youth Group’s Climate Summit. This week attracts a lot of media attention and as such, important announcements and events involving high-profile participants such as CEOs and celebrities are timed to take place during this week. However, the work of UNGA continues during the rest of the year.
China to stop funding new coal-fired power projects and to increase support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy.
China was the only major player still funding new coal-fired plants in developing nations. This unexpected announcement was a cause for celebration amongst climate activists as coal-fired power projects are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. China’s investment in coal-fired plants is estimated to be around $50 billion across 44 projects in developing countries, according to US think tank Global Energy Monitor. This pledge will have major implications for energy generation across Africa and Asia where more than 20 Chinese financed coal-fired power projects are under construction in South Africa, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates, according to data from the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre. Another 17 are in the planning stage. Outside of the energy sector, if implemented, this could potentially have a positive impact on the environment such as saving the rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs and other endangered species at Zimbabwe’s Hwange national park, where two Chinese companies were planning to extract fossil fuels. However, as this was only a pledge and not yet government policy, it is not clear when China will stop financing new plants but it is a big step in the climate change fight in the lead up to 26th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26). Watch full address here: Chinese/English
Joe Biden pledged that the US would double its climate finance, to $11.4bn a year by 2025.
12 years after committing to raise USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change, developed countries have failed to meet this goal. This $100 billion commitment is the foundation for global climate financing. The finance can come from public and private sources which includes grants and loans. According to OECD data, climate finance reached only $80bn in 2019, falling $20bn below the 2020 target. This pledge by the US is welcomed ahead of the COP26 in november, however it does not go far enough. The USA's contribution is less than France, Germany, Japan or the United Kingdom, though its economy is larger than all of them combined. Based on the size of its economy and cumulative emissions, the US should be providing between $43-50 billion each year in climate finance according to the latest ODI analysis. There is still a long way to go in terms of climate financing, overall Australia, Canada, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal and the US are contributing less than 20% of their fair share. Watch full address here: English
WHAT AFRICAN LEADERS HAD TO SAY
During the General Debate, African leaders highlighted their domestic efforts against Covid-19, praising the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access initiative, Covax, for providing vaccines to developing countries whilst also calling for more to be done to ensure that Africans are not left behind. Many leaders emphasised that climate change was a present issue heightning food security, internal displacement and terrorism across the continent. They also reinstated their commitment to climate action, calling developed countries to account for not upholding their commitments. Other leaders also made calls for African countries to have permanent membership on the Security Council. Here are some highlights from the UNGA General debate addresses.
DRC
“Africa does not need charity,” said Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In his address he advocated for constructive win-win partnerships to make better use of Africa’s collective national wealth and improve the living conditions of its people. Watch full address here: French/English
Ghana
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, highlighted the devastating social impact of the Covid-19; “over one hundred and three million African jobs have been lost. Women, who account for forty percent (40%) of total employment, have been most hard hit.” He also spoke out against migration policies saying “the use of vaccines as a tool for immigration control will be a truly regressive step.” Watch full address here: English
Kenya
In a pre-recorded message, Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan President said that the current “asymmetry” in vaccine supply “reflects a multilateral system that is in urgent need of repair”, calling for vaccines to be made available to the world, in an equitable and accessible manner. Watch full address here: English
Mali
Choguel Kokalla Maïga, interim Prime Minister of Mali called for the United Nations to help Mali to fight more effectively against the transnational organized crime, stating “the situation has continued to deteriorate steadily, to the point that entire sections of the national territory are beyond the control of the Government.” Watch the full address here: French/English
Niger
Hassoumi Massoudou, Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted that the country and region’s suffering from recurrent droughts and flooding, as well as locust infestations and the annual loss of thousands of hectares of agricultural land due to degradation. “It is our conviction that fragility linked to climate change is an aggravating factor in conflicts and humanitarian crises” he said whilst emphasising his country’s commitment to fighting climate change.Watch the full address here: French/English
Tanzania
Africa’s 5th woman leader to address the UN General Assembly, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania made a call for equitable vaccine access and reaffirmed her government’s commitment to gender equality. She emphasised this in her address saying, “As the first female president in the history of my country, the burden of expectation to deliver gender equality is heavier on my shoulders. Being passionate about gender equality is not sufficient and as such, my government is reviewing policy and legal frameworks in order to come up with actionable and measurable plans to ensure economic empowerment of women and other aspects pertaining to gender equality and gender parity,” Watch full address here: English