UN General Assembly Opens Under Strain as Trump Returns and Crises Mount

World leaders are converging on New York this week for the UN General Assembly, with nearly 130 heads of state and government expected, as the 80-year-old organisation confronts financial strain, political attacks and a crowded agenda of unresolved conflicts.

President Donald Trump's return to the rostrum for a second consecutive year is a central feature of the gathering. His administration has cut US contributions and withdrawn from dozens of UN bodies, adding to pressure on an institution already struggling to remain relevant.

China's Xi Jinping will not attend the assembly, as he did in 2021 when he addressed it by video. Instead, he will hold one-on-one talks with Trump in Washington on Thursday, a decision that has renewed debate about whether the UN remains the primary venue for addressing global crises.

Questions about the organisation's future leadership are compounding the mood. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will complete his term at the end of 2026, and no clear frontrunner has emerged to succeed him.

Diplomats say the 15-member Security Council may hold high-level meetings on Ukraine, artificial intelligence and the Middle East, including discussions with Arab leaders.

Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group described the UN as no longer in freefall but "stuck in an open-ended crisis," adding that it appears trapped in a trauma centre for the foreseeable future.

The United States avoided losing its vote in the assembly by paying $725 million toward the regular budget this week, but it still owes more than a billion dollars and continues to press for cuts and reforms.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a major theme. The assembly convenes shortly after several AI industry leaders called for a coordinated slowdown in development, warning the technology could soon improve on its own and escape human control. Guterres has said AI will be a top issue and urged countries pushing its frontiers to establish common guardrails to avoid a race to the bottom that could lead to a global disaster.

The secretary-general has long advocated global governance of AI, and in 2023 the UN created an advisory body on the technology that includes tech executives, government officials and academics. Trump has dismissed AI risks as a hoax and described concerns as a sick conspiracy, arguing China would benefit from doubts cast on its development.

The Middle East will again dominate discussions. The US-Israeli war on Iran continues to drive global inflation and destabilise the region, while recent gains by Houthi militants threaten shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and could further spike energy prices.

Guterres said a military solution is very difficult and noted that the experience of fighting in Yemen showed how complicated successful interventions can be, adding that the UN's envoy on Yemen is making a huge effort to advance talks. Peace efforts remain stalled as Iran and the US exchange strikes and Trump threatens a major escalation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the assembly on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza that Israel denies, is to speak on Thursday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will again not attend in person after the US denied him a visa. On Thursday, the General Assembly voted to allow him to appear by video. Diplomats also expect a high-level meeting on the conflict in Sudan on the sidelines, though a breakthrough is unlikely.

Russia's more than four-year-old war in Ukraine is also on the agenda. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will address the assembly, with Zelenskiy expected to seek to shore up Ukraine's position ahead of another tough winter. The Security Council has been unable to act to end the conflict because permanent member Russia holds a veto.

Trump has at times appeared frustrated at being unable to broker an end to the war, a goal he declared a priority when he began his second term in January last year. He spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this month, but it is unclear whether he plans to meet Zelenskiy in New York.

Guterres highlighted the war's impact on civilians, food security and energy prices, saying the effective blockade in the Black Sea is creating enormous problems on top of the Middle East crisis. He said it would be very important to find a way to allow Ukrainian and Russian exports of food, fertilisers and energy to move safely through the Black Sea.