The UN General Assembly began on Monday and, ending on Saturday (3 October) it promises to have heated discussions on the various humanitarian and economic crises affecting the world. Conversations are already in full swing, and the BRICS countries have made clear they have some issues they’d like to discuss.
The first head of state to speak was the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff; Dilma admitted to world leaders that Brazil is currently in a time of economic hardship, with rising inflation, currency devaluation and falling revenues, but explained that the difficulties are punctual. The President also spoke about corruption and democracy, but the strongest point was her comment on the immigration crisis that the world is experiencing today. Dilma challenged the countries preventing the free movement of people and stressed that Brazil has open arms to refugees.
In his first speech to the UN General Assembly after 10 years, Russian president Vladimir Putin criticized the UN’s weakness and asked for help against the Islamic state. Putin devoted much of his speech to the civil war in Syria and called for international support to forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad, contested by the Western powers, especially the United States.
Conversely, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi complimented the UN’s peacekeeping work and stated his support for an international agreement on climate change.
China has been criticized by the United States and other developed countries for not taking on international responsibility proportionate to their ambitions of global power. Chinese President Xi Jinping responded to the criticism and promised to invest billions of dollars on combating poverty and gender discrimination.
Already South African President Jacob Zuma has called for a reform and restructuring of the UN Security Council to resolve conflicts in the Middle East and African nations.
