Absentees raise eyebrows at UN General Assembly
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome.
00:01 How are you doing?
00:02 Welcome.
00:03 As he was welcomed in the corridors of the United Nations by the Secretary General, Joe
00:07 Biden might have felt somewhat alone.
00:10 And he probably felt similar when welcoming world leaders to New York's Metropolitan
00:15 Museum.
00:17 This is an age where we can once more make hope and history rhyme if we stick together.
00:23 Where together and only together can we bend the arc of history in a better direction.
00:30 Together but without the other four members of the UN Security Council.
00:34 Sanctions prevented Vladimir Putin from travelling.
00:39 And Chinese President Xi Jinping rarely attends the General Assembly.
00:43 He preferred to turn up at the BRICS summit in South Africa in August.
00:48 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cited a crowded agenda.
00:53 While Emmanuel Macron was preparing to host visits by King Charles III and Pope Francis.
01:00 Sunak and Macron said their attendance at the G20 summit in India was enough.
01:06 But there are some who think their absence devalues the General Assembly.
01:10 Can we really call it a UN General Assembly when none of the leaders of major western
01:16 democracies could be bothered crossing the Atlantic to turn up?
01:19 Can we really say it was a useful summit?
01:21 Unfortunately I don't think we can.
01:24 The no-shows risk undermining the UN's credibility at a time of major world issues such as climate
01:30 change, the war in Ukraine, migration crises and US-China tensions.
01:37 And in an increasingly multipolar world, it appears that some countries are not putting
01:42 their faith in the United Nations as a vehicle for multilateralism.