The UN faces its great annual appointment in a world increasingly distant from its foundational values

WashingtonThe United Nations looks at the world with the bewilderment that can only be had when one has passed the age of 80. A world that is disconcerting, but not for that reason any newer. The organization that was born with the will to prevent the ravages of the great wars of the 20th century from repeating themselves faces the general debate of the 81st session of the General Assembly marked by the shadow of war. In the last three years, the UN podium has seen how different conflicts have passed a baton that has proven cumulative and inconclusive: Ukraine, Gaza and, now, Iran. The military campaign initiated by Donald Trump will be the great protagonist of a more divided summit where alliances are being restructured and old friends are becoming known hostiles. The speed with which the old international order is unraveling seems to have surpassed that of the Arctic thaw, now seen more as a geopolitical advantage than as a climate emergency.

The Arctic island of Greenland has become the last-minute protagonist after Trump announced that he had reached an agreement with Denmark to ensure that the United States assumes the defense of the territory. After the tycoon's pressures to militarily annex the territory, the Danish government has confirmed a security pact with the White House and it is expected to be signed this Tuesday within the framework of the summit. No further details of the document have been revealed yet, and it remains to be seen if it will mean a substantial change regarding the understanding that has existed since 1951 between Washington and Copenhagen.

The signing of the text comes at a moment of distrust within NATO and distancing on the part of Europe. It does not go unnoticed that the announcement of the pact comes just after the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, extended her hand to Canada to become the first associate member of the EU. Ottawa, a historic partner of the USA due to geographical circumstances, has embarked on a trade war of attrition and seems willing to set limits for Trump. Von der Leyen's decision to court the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, did not please the Republican, who has already threatened to "cut trade relations" if he considers that the rapprochement results in a "hostile action" to his interests.

Despite the suspicion, European representatives will likely maintain their protocol smiles. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, will also have to take the podium after Spain has become another sensitive flank after the entry of more than 70,000 migrants into Ceuta from Morocco. The desperation of thousands of people seeking a better future has become a very juicy weapon for Trump and allied far-right governments, who see Madrid as one of the few progressive bastions left in Europe. If last year the Republican already said that the Old Continent was "on the road to hell" due to the alleged policy of "open borders" –although since 2015 migration control has been reinforced, leading to what is known as "fortress Europe"–, this year he will surely dig into the Ceuta drama.

First speech by Iran at war

While the State Department has once again banned the Palestinian delegation from entering the US, the Iranians will indeed be able to attend the General Assembly. A much smaller delegation is expected to arrive in New York to participate in the summit. Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, will deliver his first speech before the UN after the completion of almost seven months of war in Iran. The conflict, initiated jointly by the US and Israel, has turned into a bottomless pit that is consuming the Pentagon's critical arsenal and driving up fuel prices. A quagmire in which Trump is waist-deep, while the ayatollahs have profited by leveraging their control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Pezeshkian arrives in New York after having met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and Russian, Vladimir Putin, at the summit held in Kyrgyzstan. Neither Putin nor Xi will attend the summit. Although the Chinese leader will indeed meet with Trump on Thursday at the White House, in another shifting of the tectonic plates of power.

While China, Russia, and Iran display a certain unity, Washington's alliances seem to be cracking everywhere. The war in Iran is also testing the alliance between Washington and the Gulf petrostates: in Yemen, the Houthis have become active and have compromised the alternative route that Saudi Arabia had in Bab el-Mandeb to export its oil. Although the Saudi monarchy has asked the White House to intervene, U.S. forces are avoiding intervention to aid their partner. The only actor in the region that continues to count on the firm support of the U.S. is Israel, to whom Congress authorized the sale of a new arms package last week.

This will likely be one of the most uncomfortable general assemblies for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Not so much because of the frictions with Trump over the war with Tehran, as because of the denunciation campaign by the current New York City Council member, Zohran Mamdani. Although he acknowledged in the summer that he did not have the authority to arrest Netanyahu, the socialist has once again focused on the International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over him. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other organizations have already called for demonstrations around the UN to protest against the genocide in Gaza and against the Israeli leader.

Venezuela and Ukraine

In another symptom of the new times, the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, will speak at the General Assembly just a few kilometers from the Brooklyn prison where the Chavista leader deposed by the US, Nicolás Maduro, awaits his trial. It will be the first time a Venezuelan head of state has addressed the Assembly since Maduro did so in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, will return to the podium to remind everyone that men continue to die in Europe under the Russian offensive. The drought of Patriot interceptors that the Pentagon is suffering in Iran is also impacting Kyiv, which is suffering numerous casualties due to the increase in missiles launched by Moscow. Zelensky, who has managed to improve relations with his American counterpart, will once again take advantage of the coincidence to speak with Trump in the UN corridors.

For the peace of mind of world leaders—and especially Trump—it seems that this year the building's escalators will work perfectly. At least that is what António Guterres claims, who will inaugurate the general debate for the last time as UN Secretary-General after having been re-elected in 2022. Last year, the American president accused the organization of having sabotaged the escalators while he was on his way to the entrance of the General Assembly. An inconvenience that did not prevent the Republican from taking the podium to disparage the organization. Words that months later materialized in the creation of the Peace Board, an organization of which the tycoon is president for life and with which he seems to want to dispute the legitimacy of the United Nations.