Covid-19 leaves imprint on 2020 UN General Assembly high-level debate

On New York’s First Avenue of Midtown East from 42nd Street to 48th Street, an area that once used to have slaughterhouses, lies the United Nations Headquarters. In less than two weeks from now, the premises will play host to the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (GA), which will open on September 15.

In the normal course, the main attraction of the opening of a new session of GA is the high-level debate that brings heads of delegations (HoD), including heads of State, governments and foreign ministers, from 193 Member States to the Big Apple. This debate will be on September 22. The GA has now decided that the heads of State and government will not be physically attending the annual gathering due to the pandemic. They will submit pre-recorded speeches to the event. While taking the debate to the virtual platform will bring some consistency to the yearly exercise, it will take away the importance of the occasion, which is not just restricted to the diplomatic corps. The exercise has a broader meaning to the official as well as non-official delegations and those invested in multilateralism.

This year’s General Assembly session had a special significance as it marks 75 years of the UN’s existence. The UN was gearing up to commemorate the occasion. Last year, on April 18, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had announced the appointment of Fabrizio Hochschild of Chile as his Special Adviser on the preparations for the commemoration of the UN’s 75th anniversary at the Under-Secretary-General level. The new format of this year will severely dent the commemoration.

This year, the high-level debate will be less taxing for the local authorities. Usually, a day before the high-level debate, the midtown east area of Manhattan that provides access to the UNHQ building comes under a tight security cover of New York Police Department’s 17th Precinct. Imposing metallic road impediments are deployed at the prominent road arteries that provide vehicular access to the UNHQ to foil any potential suicide attacks. The security is particularly tight for the first two days and incrementally starts decreasing, particularly after the US President leaves the city. The high-level week is not just an occasion for speeches as the Member States organise a number of side-events to bring spotlight over various issues. This year, Member States will have to move “all side-events to virtual platforms to limit the footprint and number of people in the UN building.”

Even with the changed format, there will be some consistencies. Eagerly awaited on the first day of the high-level week is the speech by the host, the United States’ President. Apart from his speech, the last few years have marked one important emphasis of the US President at the UNHQ on an issue that signals the priority of the US administration. The UN has been no exception to the Sino-US tensions. In the midst of the rising death toll globally due to Covid-19, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) struggled for several months to adopt a draft resolution on the pandemic. In this context, the US took a position that it either wants a broader resolution that calls for reforms and accountability of the WHO or a narrow resolution that reiterates UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ appeal for a global ceasefire during the pandemic period. China, on the other hand, was leading the efforts to insist that apart from covering other elements, the resolution should call for support to the WHO. This was inimical to the US position as it had accused the WHO of becoming “literally, a pipe organ for China”. Though a two-page resolution – drafted by France and Tunisia - was finally adopted on July 1, tensions continue between the two on a number of issues, and the high-level debate will reflect those tensions.

From the subcontinent, the spat between the HoDs of India and Pakistan has become a consistent feature in recent GA opening sessions. Pakistan raises J&K and cites UN resolutions. India challenges the narrative and asserts that the state is an integral part of the country. India draws attention to the scourge of terrorism emanating from across the border and alleges that Pakistan is the main sponsor of terrorism on its territory. This year, in the context of completion of one year of de-operationalisation of Article 370 and Pakistan’s continued bid to internationalise the issue, the exchange between both sides is expected to be particularly acerbic.

Apart from delivering speeches at the high-level segment, visiting HoDs normally use this opportunity to have bilateral engagements with counterparts of other countries. Devoid of any extravaganza, these engagements usually take place in the common spaces of the UNHQ premises, and it is more of a touch base exercise and normally last 5-10 minutes. Member States will miss these rare opportunities to engage with each other.

This year will also be a loss to the activists and members of civil society. In the vicinity of the UNHQ, boisterous protesters of all backgrounds aim to draw the attention of the world leaders and lend different atmospherics from the protocol-ridden and mostly formal developments inside the UNHQ premises. A common sight is of Hasidic Jewish communities from South Williamsburg and Midwood areas of Brooklyn borough of New York city as they voice their perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Jewish population in NYC is around 13%, next only to Tel Aviv in absolute numbers. There is a prosperous Iranian diaspora from Los Angeles, known as Tehrangeles in a lighter vein because of the large number of Iranian-descent Americans living there, who come holding placards against the alleged human rights violations in Iran. The Egyptian diaspora, a community that man most of the Halal food carts in NYC, raise their voice against alleged human rights violations by the Egyptian military. Often, the protesters are challenged by other sets of protesters with their counter-narratives. For instance, the protest of a group of Armenian Americans against the Turkish denial of genocide during World War I is countered by a parallel protest by Turkish Americans. Remarkably, these protests remain disciplined and are free of violence.

(The writer is a former member of the UN Secretary-General's Good Offices on Myanmar)