Why in news?

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. During this speech, he emphasised that the UN must be reformed and member states — led by active Global South contributors like India — must strengthen cooperation, confront terrorism, and restore multilateral credibility to meet 21st-century challenges.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• UN General Assembly
• The General Debate
• EAM Jaishankar at the UN — Key points & takeaways

UN General Assembly

• The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.
• All 193 UN member states are members (each with one vote). The Holy See and Palestine are permanent observers.
• It provides a global forum for multilateral discussion of international issues — peace & security, development, human rights, international law, budgetary and administrative matters.
• Working
  • It holds an annual Regular Session (High-Level Week in September) plus Special and Emergency Special Sessions when required.
  • Structure: Six Main Committees handle substantive work:
    • Disarmament & International Security
    • Economic & Financial
    • Social, Humanitarian & Cultural
    • Special Political & Decolonization
    • Administrative & Budgetary
    • Legal
  • President & Bureau: A President (elected for one year) chairs sessions and sets procedural priorities; elected from different regional groups on rotation.
• Decision-making & voting:
  • Important questions (admission of members, budget, peace & security recommendations) normally require a two-thirds majority.
  • Other questions require a simple majority.
  • Nature of GA decisions: Most resolutions and declarations are non-binding politically influential instruments; binding enforcement is typically the Security Council’s domain.
• Key powers & functions
  • Approve the UN budget and apportion member contributions.
  • Elect non-permanent members of the Security Council, members of other UN bodies and the judges of the ICJ (in conjunction with the Security Council).
  • Recommend appointment of the Secretary-General to the Security Council.
  • Create subsidiary organs and specialised agencies; convene world conferences.
• Key achievements & historical impact
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948): Adopted by UNGA — foundational text in international human rights.
  • Decolonization: Adopted the 1960 Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and guided a major wave of decolonization through UN support and membership expansion.
  • Development agendas: Endorsed the Millennium Declaration (MDGs) and later the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs (2015) — global compacts for development.

The General Debate

• The general debate is part of the General Assembly session and is held at the beginning of each regular session in September.
• Purpose: Heads of state/government and ministers present national views and priorities and respond to global issues under a chosen theme.
• Speaking order & practice: Traditionally Brazil speaks first, then the United States, followed by other states in order of request and protocol.
• Theme of 80^th session - Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.
• Presidency of 80^th session - Annalena Baerbock of Germany is the President of 80^th UNGA being held in New York.

EAM Jaishankar at the UN — Key points & takeaways

• EAM argued that the UN’s founding Charter calls for peace and human dignity, but the state of the world shows the organisation struggling to deliver.
• He said that the global problems (conflict, climate, development, trade, terrorism) make a compelling case for more international cooperation — and urgent reform of multilateral institutions.
• State of the world — where the UN is falling short
  • Major conflicts: Cited Ukraine and the Middle East as evidence that the UN’s conflict-resolution role is under strain.
  • Development shortfalls: Slow progress on the Sustainable Development Goals; resources and delivery lag.
  • Climate credibility at risk: “If climate action itself is questioned, what hope is there for climate justice?” — concern over hollow commitments and creative accounting.
  • Economic friction: Rising tariff volatility, technology controls, supply-chain grip, and restricted labour mobility undermine open trade and require multilateral responses.
• Terrorism — an urgent, shared threat
  • Terrorism synthesises bigotry, violence, intolerance and fear and remains a priority.
  • India’s experience: living next to a state that is a centre for global terrorism underlines the urgency.
  • Required measures: choke terrorism financing, sanction prominent terrorists, and deepen international cooperation against sponsors and sympathisers.
• UN credibility & the need for reform
  • The UN is “in a state of crisis”: gridlock has reduced its ability to build common ground and weakened belief in multilateralism.
  • Security Council reform is essential — expand both permanent and non-permanent membership to reflect contemporary realities.
• India and the Global South — readiness to lead
  • India stands ready to assume greater responsibilities, and the Global South must contribute more actively.
  • Cited India’s international role: development projects, crisis response, safe commerce, and security assistance.
  • Call for countries that can engage all sides (e.g., in Ukraine and the Middle East) to step up mediation and search for solutions.
• Principles for action — cooperation, empathy, common purpose
  • International cooperation must prevail; islands of prosperity cannot flourish in an ocean of turbulence.
  • A functioning world order requires common purpose and empathy — the UN should be the forum to enable that.
  • Reforming multilateralism is presented as the obvious, necessary path forward.