World leaders will meet in New York this week to participate in high-level UN talks.

As the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session commences in New York, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has admitted he has “no power at all.” 

Speaking to CNN in an interview, the UN Chief revealed that he has little to no executive power in the meetings amongst global leaders. 

“The secretary of the United Nations has no power, and there’s no money. What we have is a voice, and that voice can be loud, and I have the obligation to make it be loud,” Guterres said. 

The former Portuguese politician went on to voice that there are certain opportunities for the UN to serve in, but the real power remains in the member states. 

“Sometimes we are able to bring together different actors, not only countries, but the private sector, civil society, women and youth organisations, scientific experts, the academia. But the power is in the member states,” the Secretary-General added. 

Appointed in 2017, Guterres expressed that the absence of power is due to the longstanding divide of nations that has prevailed since World War II. 

“We have a level of division among superpowers than has no precedent since the Second World War,” Guterres told CNN. 

“Even in the Cold War, things were more predictable than they are today.” 

The General Debate

The highly anticipated assembly kicks off on Tuesday and will be held under the theme, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all.”

At least 140 or so countries are expected to take part in the annual meeting, with some significant absences.

A frequent skipper of the assembly, Russia’s Vladimir Putin will not attend, with his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, speaking on his behalf. 

Putin’s absence is due primarily to an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued due to his invasion of Ukraine.  

According to French officials, Emmanuel Macron’s schedule conflicts with a meeting with King Charles III will lead him to be absent from the General Assembly. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also miss his first opportunity to address the General Assembly due to a busy schedule. 

On the first day, Brazil, which has traditionally spoken first, will go as expected with a speech by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, following US President Joe Biden since New York is hosting the debate. 

After Biden, speakers’ assembly order will ” follow a complex algorithm reflecting level of representation, geographical balance, the order in which the request to speak was recorded, and other considerations,” as stated on the UN website. 

Qatar’s Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is expected to speak on Tuesday.