Disunited Nations
Jams await inside & outside Gen. Assembly
Tensions inside and gridlock outside are forecast for the UN General Assembly’s return to deliberations this week.
The global COVID crisis, dire warnings about climate change and fallout from the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan are expected to predominate at the annual meeting, where more than 100 world leaders will descend upon the United Nations headquarters in Midtown.
President Biden plans to make an appeal for greater international partnership on the pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses. He is set to meet with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday and address the assembly on Tuesday.
Last year’s General Assembly was all-virtual, and Biden is limiting his time at this year’s forum over COVID concerns.
On Wednesday the commander-in-chief is hosting a virtual summit focusing on the pandemic. He is expected to ask global leaders to boost commitments to sharing vaccines and address oxygen shortages around the world, among other issues.
This year’s General Assembly is Biden’s first as president. After his predecessor Donald Trump aggressively advocated an “America First” stance on the global stage, world leaders welcomed Biden’s election as a return to international norms.
But chaos during last month’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan raised questions about Biden’s leadership among longstanding allies. Leaders of friendly countries decried the move, which came as the Taliban took over Afghanistan, as a disaster.
U.S. officials sounded a message of unity ahead of the General Assembly.
“We believe our priorities are not just American priorities; they are global priorities,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said on Friday.
Along with hosting the virtual COVID confab, Biden has invited the prime ministers of Australia, India and Japan to Washington.
They’re expected to meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the White House to discuss strengthening the Pacific alliance.
Biden’s latest step on that front — a deal for the U.S. and Britain to sell nuclear submarines to Australia — enraged longtime ally France, which had been planning to sell its own subs Down Under. In response, France recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia.
Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to speak over the phone in the next few days.
The Big Apple is playing host to world leaders in the wake of new rules aimed at getting the coronavirus outbreak under control.
Visiting dignitaries don’t necessarily have to comply with the local regs, even if diplomatic immunity doesn’t apply to the deadly virus.
Thomas-Greenfield recently voiced worry about the potential for COVID spread.
“We are concerned about the UN event being a superspreader event, and that we need to take all measures to ensure that it does not become a superspreader event,” she said.
Thomas-Greenfield called on world leaders to present their addresses in prerecorded video form.
But more than 100 are planning to give their speeches in person, according to CBS News.
The de Blasio administration told the UN that the city mandate requiring proof of vaccination for indoor activities applies to the General Assembly. But Abdulla Shahid, president of the General Assembly, wrote diplomats that the UN would rely on the honor system for compliance with local rules.
Whatever happens inside the UN, New Yorkers have been warned to expect traffic gridlock outside.
Starting 6 a.m. Monday, several streets in Midtown will be closed off as the NYPD sets up detours and security checkpoints, according to Chief of Transportation Kim Royster.
One street closed to traffic will be 42nd St. between First and Second Aves., with the exception of vehicles cleared at checkpoints, Royster said.
“The city is opening up, but we want to make sure it’s able to move,” she said last week.