Afrasianet - Representatives of diplomatic delegations continue to arrive in New York City for the opening of the 79th high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, which will begin its deliberations on Tuesday, with more than 130 heads of state and government, as well as foreign ministers, high-level officials and diplomatic delegations. The high-level deliberations will continue until Monday, the thirtieth of September.

World leaders are coming to New York to attend the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly this year, but the UN does not seem to be the center of power and engine of these meetings as much as it is "just" a place where many bilateral meetings are

held and around it, and things go according to the desire of the powerful countries that control all matters so that the organization is just a stage. The annual meetings ofthe United Nations begin in New York, with fears of a regional war in the region in light of the unprecedented Israeli escalation on Lebanon and the continued aggression on Gaza, a theme that dominates the 79th session of the General Assembly in which US President Joe Biden is participating for the last time.

More than 100 heads of state and government are scheduled to take to the podium of the UN General Hall in succession during a week clouded by conflicts, particularly in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, almost a year after the outbreak of war.

On the sidelines of the 79th session of the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that "peace is under attack from all sides," calling for "an end to the tragedies facing humanity," referring to the ongoing wars in Sudan, as well as the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.

In the midst of the media uproar that will accompany the presence of all these leaders, is it expected that there will be any breakthrough in hot issues, such as the war on Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan? Speaking to a number of diplomats about their expectations, their direct and frank answer is that "expectations are very low if not non-existent" in the hope of any actual breakthrough in any of the hot files.

At the current session of the General Assembly, Biden will take the podium for the last time to address world leaders, following

his assertion of working to "contain the recent escalation" in Lebanon. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, says the world body plays an important role in de-escalation in Lebanon, but stressed that it would take the will of political leaders and said major powers were not doing enough to stop the war.

The United Nations needs reforms in line with the 21st century in terms of security, peace, development and new technologies, he said, noting that what is needed now is to focus on stopping the war, not reforming the Organization.

Dujarric said the U.N. secretary-general was trying to de-escalate with the tools at his disposal, but stressed the limitations of those tools, saying they were limited to working to convince the parties.

On the sidelines of the event, International Crisis Group official Richard Gowan said that "real diplomacy to reduce tensions will take place behind the scenes," raising the possibility of Western, Arab and Iranian diplomats holding discussions "to prevent the regional situation from spiraling out of control." The UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in March, but the resolution has not been implemented.

The meetings come after nearly a full year of bloody war on Gaza and the inability of the international organization, which is

supposed to be primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security, to achieve any tangible progress on the ground, or even break the circle of American monopoly on decision-making. This year's UN General Assembly meetings also come days after a new wave of Israeli violence against Lebanon, and the silence of many key Western countries even to condemn the attacks it has suffered. Lebanon, especially the bombing of communication devices that left thousands injured and dozens of victims, including many civilians. Meetings will be held on hot topics such as the wars in Palestine and Lebanon, as well as Sudan and Ukraine. It is expected that there will be a media fanfare around a number of delegations, including Israelis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the presence of the Sudanese army commander, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan , and the Iranian delegation, as well as about US President Joe Biden's upcoming speech, the last before the United Nations General Assembly in his capacity as president of the United States.

There are also a number of high-level conferences to be held, in the presence of heads of State and foreign ministers, including the "Summit of the Future" (held on Sunday evening), the "High-level Dialogue on Addressing the Existential Threats posed by Sea-Level Rise", and the high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the "Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons".

Richard Goon, a UN specialist from the Crisis Group, spoke at a briefing for UN-accredited journalists in New York. "We have to accept that this year's meetings come after one of the most frustrating years in the modern history of the United Nations (the Gaza war), which came after the turmoil that this international organization went through as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian

war," Gawn said.... "But the months following the October 7 attack last year plunged the organization into a deep sense of confusion and crisis." He pointed out that there are real concerns about the loss of credibility of the international organization in light of the severe polarization that controls it, especially in the Security Council and the paralysis it suffers. Gaon drew attention to the "summit of the future" held on the sidelines of high-level meetings that are supposed to try to address weaknesses and improve the performance of the United Nations.

On Sunday, the General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution without a vote containing a key agreement known as the "Charter of the Future", which is described as a call to action and reform to put the world on a better path for the benefit of everyone, everywhere. Although the Charter is not legally binding, it touches on important turning points for all humanity. Negotiations on it had lasted for months, led by Germany and Namibia. The charter addresses key points that renew the commitment to international cooperation on a number of issues. Fundamental issues, such as artificial intelligence, climate change, reform of international institutions, not to mention peaceful space exploration.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for transforming the agreements adopted by the summit into real steps on the ground in a world facing many challenges, including conflicts, widening inequality, the consequences of global warming, climate problems, as well as technology, especially artificial intelligence. Guterres recently warned that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that world leaders agreed to achieve by 2030 are at risk, with many countries burdened with debt, inequality and high costs of living. At the

same time, many multilateral international institutions have shown insufficient capacity to respond to these challenges.

Whether this "reform journey," as Guterres called it, will indeed bear fruit, is only a matter of time to see. But among the things that need to be reformed that Guterres spoke of include "reforming the Security Council, reforming the international financial institutions to use resources effectively to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and climate, and reforming the system for responding to global clashes." He stressed the need to have a global digital charter that includes an international agreement on artificial intelligence aimed at laying the foundations for the establishment of an international platform based in The United Nations meets under its umbrella all parties concerned.

Among the things that need to be fixed, Guterres said, are the Security Council, financial institutions.

In a media statement, Louis Charbonneau, director of Human Rights Watch's UN office, said world leaders meeting in New York must "commit to bold steps to end the atrocity crimes committed in the world's worst crises and hold those responsible to account." He stressed the need for the situations in Palestine, Sudan , Ukraine, Haiti, Myanmar, Venezuela and Afghanistan to top the agenda. These issues are already likely to be on the agenda, but the more important question is whether there is indeed an intention on the part of Actors and already able to solve it to do so. The key to the war in Gaza is in the hands of the United States, and the American president, who will come to New York for his country's final briefing as president, does not seem interested in stopping it and stopping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has crossed all red lines, while the

United States continues to provide diplomatic and military cover to Israel.

Regarding the "Charter of the Future", Charbonneau stressed the need for these leaders to seek systemic changes to address economic injustice and promote the right to a healthy environment, adding that "they must endorse concrete proposals at the Future Summit to address poverty, economic injustice, the climate crisis and threats, and affirm their readiness to work in support of human rights."

World leaders are coming to New York to attend the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly this year, but the UN does not seem to be the center of power and engine of these meetings as much as it is "just" a place where many bilateral meetings are held and around it, and things go according to the desire of the powerful countries that control all matters so that the organization is just a stage.

Accompanying these meetings , trucks with giant digital screens roamed major streets in New York City and offered calls for reform of the United Nations.

This coincides with the influx of a large number of visitors from all over the world to New York, due to the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly.

Trucks roamed New York's busiest streets with phrases such as: "Beyond Five: Building a Global System for All", "A World Order Beyond Five: A More Just Future for All", "A Reformed United Nations for a More Just World", and "Turkey: A Partner in Humanitarian Aid and Sustainable Development".