[ad_1]
Greetings and welcome to the live blog of the United Nations General Assembly.
Oliver Holmes here, watching and digesting the often scathing speeches of world leaders so you don’t have to.
The 75th general assembly will certainly be different this year.
Typically, the week-long event would be a lively “general debate” between member states, with opportunities for diplomatic breakthroughs (and breakdowns) in the corridors and cafe of UN headquarters.
This year’s pandemic has put an end to any discussion and instead the leaders have pre-recorded video messages that will be broadcast on a big screen behind the famous green marble podium.
Less drama, possibly, and you certainly won’t be able to see heads of state laughing at Donald Trump as he brags about his accomplishments.
However, there are sure to be surprises as we step into the unknown – the rules allow the use of video graphics in recorded messages, so we may see some flourishes from the most creative leaders.
Everything will start at 9 a.m. local time in New York (2 p.m. in London) with opening remarks from the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, which will certainly give everyone a good reprimand.
After that, the new president of the general assembly, Volcano Steppe from Turkey, will make a few brief comments before turning to the big hitters.
As is usual, Brazil will be the first country to speak, with its president, Jair bolsonaro, is expected to follow up on his fiery 2019 speech. Donald trump He will continue, no doubt speaking less to the world and more directly to US voters as a tough election approaches.
Later we will have Turkey, China, Russia, Iran, and France – all before lunch.
I’ll be blogging on the big first day, while my colleagues from around the world submit analysis.
