The UN at 80: The General Assembly marked the UN’s eightieth anniversary, seen by many as a somber occasion rather than a time for celebration, and called for renewed commitment to international cooperation.

The war in Gaza: 

• 157 UN members countries have endorsed Palestinian statehood.

• Despite severe constraints, the UN Relief and Works Administration (UNRWA) continued to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

• On November 17, the UN Security Council endorsed the “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” negotiated by the United States.

The Russia-Ukraine War:

• The UN General Assembly reaffirmed the sovereignty of Ukraine and demanded Russia's immediate, unconditional return of all forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.

• The UN coordinated humanitarian aid in Ukraine, with a focus on food, shelter, healthcare, cash assistance, and infrastructure repair. 

Under-reported Humanitarian Crises. The World Food Program, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), UNICEF and other agencies aided the victims of humanitarian crises in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.

Climate:  COP 30 (Brazil, November) had mixed results: new agreements to triple international funding for adaptation to climate change and to establish a new fund for tropical forest conservation, but failure to agree on explicit language on phasing out fossil fuels (1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists were among the 56,000 delegates).

Artificial Intelligence: A September high-level meeting launched the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, a UN forum for nations to deliberate on the open, safe, and inclusive development of AI.

Sustainable Development Goals:   

• The UN Ocean Conference (France, June) adopted the Nice Ocean Action Plan to accelerate implementation of SDG 14, Life Below Water.

• The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (Spain, July) adopted the Sevilla Commitment to boost funding for achieving the SDGs.

UN Reform: Antonio Guterres, now in his final year as UN Secretary-General, launched a comprehensive reform initiative, UN80, to make the UN “more agile, integrated, and equipped to respond to today’s complex global challenges amid tightening resources.”  The UN faces a severe liquidity crisis primarily due to member states’ failure to pay their contributions on time.



U.S.- UN Relations: The U.S. withdrew from the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate accords, the Human Rights Council and UNESCO, ended funding for UNRWA, and cut funding for UNICEF and other agencies.  The U.S. did not attend the Ocean Conference, the Financing for Development Conference, or COP 30 mentioned above. Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, promised to “make the UN great again.”