Yes, the two-week annual diplomacy jamboree has its shortcomings; it’s what gets done on the margins that matters.

UN/X

By Louise Blais

September 24, 2024

The annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), especially its High-Level Week, grows in scope and size every year. Once the exclusive playground of world leaders and diplomats, the annual event now bursts at the seams with hundreds of side events and parallel summits such as this year’s Summit of the Future.

In addition to sizeable governmental delegations, participants include not-for-profit organizations, the private sector and academia. It has become a cacophony of endless pet issues, albeit much more inclusive than it once was. There is competition for attention, room bookings and those coveted UNGA passes.

Allow me a parenthesis here:  With limited space on UN grounds, each country is issued a set number of badges. The process is as archaic as it is opaque, with permanent missions having to show up at a mysterious window in Midtown a week in advance, to be handed a brown envelope with the number of passes of which the UN Secretariat deems the mission worthy that year.

There are never enough. Therefore, one of the most important jobs a diplomat may have during UNGA High-Level Week is to be responsible for pass swaps. In any given day, 10 delegates might use a single physical pass as a result of carefully choreographed pass exchanges at checkpoints. Close of parenthesis.

Another notable trend has been the diminished attention given to the General Assembly Debate. No longer do heads of state and government of the 193 member states even attempt to pitch their pleas to a mostly empty room (most people watching via live feed, attending side events or managing bilateral meetings). Speeches are almost exclusively written for the consumption of domestic audiences. In fact, more and more, leaders skip the dais altogether, opting to let their minister of Foreign Affairs or ambassador deliver the national address.  This has been the case for Canada for the past few years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the Summit for the Future on Sunday, but not stay for his assigned slot to speak to the UN General Assembly later in the week. That role will be filled by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.

Perhaps this is not so surprising given that the debate is not really a debate. It is a long list of separate speeches that, altogether, stretch over a period of seven days. With heads of government (such as is the case for Canada, UK and Japan) being lower on the protocol list versus heads of state (USA, France and others), Canada has zero chance of speaking in the first two days, when some people are still paying attention.

This explains why certain leaders, especially those from what were once more routinely referred to as “rogue states”, have resorted to props and theatrics to break out of the pack and secure coverage for their grievances and agendas.

To address this dialogue deficit, over time the UN and member states have bypassed the UNGA General Debate by organizing thematic summits. This year, we had the Summit of the Future.  Branded as groundbreaking, the Summit and its declarations, in fact mostly reaffirmed existing commitments on poverty eradication, gender equality, peace and security, human rights, and climate change, while including newer goals such as digital cooperation and a shared commitment to UN Security Council Reform. Basically, the full gamut of what the UN does.

At a time when the big solutions elude international consensus, a great many smaller wins are achieved in the margins.

Reading the text of the Summit’s declaration, one might feel both hope and despair.  On the one hand, inspired to read such renewed aspirations, on the other, disillusioned by the realization that such similar words have been enshrined in other important texts before, like the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Agenda 2030.

Many of these previous commitments — from adherence to international law to the protection of civilians in conflict to the need to adhere to International Court of Justice rulings — have, unfortunately, been too-often ignored or defied in recent years.

Therefore, one might be forgiven for doubting that yet another non-binding text will improve compliance to these basic principles. That is not the UN’s fault per se; it can only be as good as its weakest link.

That does not mean that UNGA High-Level Week, even in its present form, is entirely ineffective.

The Pact for the Future may not make a difference in certain areas, yet it can still serve as a model, a lighthouse in the fog to help guide some to port. That is because the UN is still a credible reference for many organizations doing important work around the world. Many will point to passages in the Declaration in their activities and engagement with governments.

The main impact of UNGA is that these hectic two weeks in New York do provide a critical carrefour, where leaders can interact extensively with the world. A reminder that challenges are shared and that relationships can unlock solutions.  It is also where non-state actors are granted broad access to decision-makers. At a time when the big solutions elude international consensus, a great many smaller wins are achieved in the margins.

In my time at the United Nations, I have seen such progress and new cooperation at the project level, and I know that similar successes will be attained this year.  Personal leadership on issues still matters. Take Innovative financing for example. This is a concept that was totally absent from the UN a decade ago. Yet, to achieve many Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, government funding will not be enough. Private-sector financing will be necessary.  Canada initiated dialogue on this issue, and together with Jamaica helped change mindsets and bridge the gap between private capital and the Global South.

This year, as president of the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ambassador Bob Raewill have significant influence in many key areas, and he is set to leverage Canada’s capabilities to foster greater international collaboration on new and emerging challenges and opportunities such as AI.

The UN justly attracts criticism for its inability to prevent and manage regional conflicts; a structural flaw laid bare with the Russian invasion and the Israel-Hamas war. However, it has helped achieve one of its original aims; preventing a third world war.  Its halls still serve as a crucial protected place where rivals and enemies can engage in negotiation and escalation-prevention.

As leaders gather in NYC city again this year, what will go on behind the scenes will be just as — if not more — meaningful as what we hear from the stage.

Policy contributing writer Louise Blais served as Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations and as consul general in Atlanta. She is now an advisor to the Business Council of Canada and Pendleton Group, and diplomat in residence at l’Université Laval.