![]() New Zealand experienced this connectedness first hand on 15 March, when an alleged terrorist, using the Internet to broadcast his crimes, attacked a place of worship, killing 51 people, “devastating our Muslim community and challenging our sense of who we are as a country”, she said. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand said the notion of isolationism is obsolete as the world becomes ever more interdependent, pointing out that domestic decisions now have global ramifications. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda summed up a theme threading through the six-day general debate, stressing that the international community now stands at a crossroads that could either be a turning point or a moment when multilateralism has lost its way. ![]() “Evidence abounds that we can do great things if we are courageous, steadfast and show empathy,” he said, describing the presence of 193 Member States united around common goals as itself “a remarkable feat”.Īs world leaders shared their respective visions of how best to overcome the planet’s most pressing problems - including the need to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - some advocated unilateral approaches while others championed the benefits of global cooperation in pursuit of common goals. General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (Nigeria) emphasized that multilateral cooperation remains the best way to tackle global challenges. “We are here to serve,” he declared, calling upon all nations to reconnect with the vision of the Organization’s founders, restore trust and move ahead together. At the same time, the world is losing the race to combat climate change, which increasingly poses a dire threat to humanity, he said.Īddressing the theme for the seventy-fourth session - “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion” - he offered a hopeful perspective, saying that “if we change our ways now” to reduce emissions and cap the rise of global temperatures at 1.5☌, the battle for the planet can be won. Secretary-General António Guterres warned in opening remarks that the international community is at risk of a “great fracture”, noting that “many people fear getting trampled, thwarted, left out and left behind” by automation, demagogues, traffickers and warlords at a time when “we see borders and hearts closing” to refugees and displaced people. ![]() The global climate emergency as well as zero-sum geopolitics, declining development assistance and rising global debt set the backdrop for world leaders as the General Assembly began the annual general debate for its seventy-fourth session, with many calling for solidarity to meet the planet’s most pressing challenges. Isolationism Obsolete as World Becomes Ever More Interdependent, New Zealand Prime Minister Warns
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