What is happening now

World leaders are meeting in New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The week includes leader speeches and many meetings on war and peace, debt and development, climate action, artificial intelligence, and how to speed up progress on the global goals. The United Nations has set the theme around being better together for peace, development and human rights while marking eighty years of its work. 

Three facts frame this session:

• War and humanitarian need remain high on the agenda because of the fighting in Ukraine and in Gaza, and because displacement is at record levels. At the end of 2024, 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide.
  
• Debt and slow development are now a global risk. Public debt reached 102 trillion United States dollars in 2024, and only about 17 percent of the world’s development targets are on track.
  
• Artificial intelligence and the digital world have moved to the centre. After leaders adopted the Pact for the Future in 2024, countries are now building a Global Digital Compact and new United Nations bodies for artificial-intelligence safety and science advice.
  

What are the United Nations, the General Assembly, and the Security Council?

• The United Nations is a grouping of 193 countries, created in 1945 to prevent war, promote cooperation, and defend human rights. Two entities, the Holy See and Palestine, are observers at the Assembly.
  
• The General Assembly is the parliament of nations. Every country has one vote. It debates any global issue, adopts resolutions, elects members to key bodies, and approves the United Nations budget. Important decisions, such as membership and budget, require a two-thirds majority. The Assembly can recommend steps but cannot enforce them.
  
• The Security Council is the main peace and security body. It can order ceasefires, set sanctions, and approve peacekeeping missions. It has 15 members: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States) who each hold a veto, and ten elected members on two-year terms. One veto can block most Council action.
  

Why both matter: the Assembly gives voice and legitimacy; the Council gives legal force. When the Council is split, the Assembly still shapes norms, coalitions, and pressure for action.

The main issues at the 80th session — what is at stake, who matters, and what can be done

1) Wars and humanitarian crises

What is at stake: protection of civilians, access for aid, respect for the United Nations Charter, and accountability for violations. Refugee numbers are at historic highs.

Who matters: the parties to each conflict; the five permanent members of the Security Council; neighbours hosting refugees; United Nations relief agencies; and donor countries.

What can be done:

• Humanitarian access with monitoring: negotiate corridors and regularly verified pauses so food, fuel, medicine and evacuations can continue.
  
• Civilian-harm tracking: use satellite and open-source verification run by the United Nations to document strikes on homes, schools and hospitals.
  
• Prisoner and missing-persons channels: create neutral, United Nations-supervised mechanisms to exchange detainees and locate the missing.
  
• Evidence and justice: support independent evidence preservation; refer situations to the International Criminal Court where law and politics permit.
  
• Use both organs: press the Council for binding steps; when blocked, use the Assembly to set standards, fund relief, and keep diplomatic pressure high.
  

2) Debt stress and slow progress on the global goals

The problem in one line: many developing countries now spend more on interest payments than on schools or clinics; only about 17 percent of global targets are on track. 

Recent data: global public debt hit 102 trillion dollars in 2024; developing countries owe about 31 trillion dollars and their debt has grown twice as fast as rich countries since 2010. In 2023 alone, developing countries paid 1.4 trillion dollars to service foreign debt. 

What can be done:

• An “SDG stimulus” for poorer countries: more long-term, low-cost finance from multilateral banks; emergency liquidity lines during shocks.
  
• Faster and fairer debt workouts: strengthen the Group of Twenty debt framework; bring private lenders to the table together with official lenders; use legal tools against hold-outs.
  
• Debt-for-development and debt-for-climate swaps linked to transparent national plans and independent monitoring.
  
• Protect social floors: ring-fence budgets for food, health and schooling during any adjustment program.
  

3) Climate action, loss and damage, and resilience

What the Assembly can push: while climate deals are made under the United Nations climate convention, the Assembly can mobilise money and political will for:

• The Loss and Damage Fund: front-load contributions and make them predictable.
  
• Risk pools and disaster insurance for climate-vulnerable states.
  
• Job-creating transitions: support renewable energy, grids, storage and clean cooking in developing economies.
  
• Early-warning systems for all people and city-level resilience plans for heat, floods and droughts.
  

4) Digital governance and artificial intelligence

What has changed: in 2024 leaders adopted the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact. In 2025, countries are moving to implement them. The United Nations has also announced a global forum on artificial intelligence and a forty-member science panel to advise on safety and standards.

What can be done now:

• Agree common safety standards for powerful models, including incident reporting and independent audits.
  
• Set rules for responsible use of computing power and data, strong child protection online, and limits on biometric mass surveillance without due process.
  
• Invest in digital public goods and open standards so poorer countries can deliver e-governance without vendor lock-in.
  

5) Migration, refugees and human rights

The picture: displacement has risen to 123.2 million people, driven by wars and climate shocks. Host countries need help so services do not break down.

What the Assembly can advance:

• Burden-sharing compacts that link finance, resettlement places, and safe legal pathways.
  
• Rights-respecting borders and action against trafficking.
  
• Invest in host communities: schools, clinics and jobs so support is a win-win.
  

The United Nations’ own limits — and how to make it work better

The challenge: the Security Council often stalls because of vetoes; development work is under-funded; trust drops when results are slow.

A practical reform package:

1. Security Council update
   
   • Work toward wider representation for Africa, Latin America, and large developing countries.
     
   • Promote veto restraint in cases of mass atrocities or urgent humanitarian access, and require a public explanation after every veto.
     
2. A stronger General Assembly
   
   • Attach follow-up mechanisms (timelines, reporting, and funding pledges) to major resolutions.
     
   • When the Council is blocked, use the “Uniting for Peace” approach to recommend collective steps such as monitoring missions and sanctions guidance.
     
3. Reliable finance for the United Nations
   
   • Pay assessed dues on time.
     
   • Channel part of Special Drawing Right reallocations and multilateral-bank profits into funds for the poorest countries and for climate losses.
     
4. Better delivery on the ground
   
   • Use “One-United Nations” country platforms with open data so each dollar can be tracked to outcomes.
     
   • Put local experts, women and youth in leadership roles in country programs.
     
5. Make digital and artificial-intelligence governance a United Nations strength
   
   • Implement the Global Digital Compact with clear timelines; stand up the new forum and science panel; align with regional regulators so standards converge rather than clash.
     

Key Terms

• Resolution: a formal decision of the General Assembly or the Security Council. Council resolutions on peace and security are binding on all members.
  
• Veto: the power of any of the five permanent Council members to block a decision.
  
• Loss and Damage Fund: a new fund under the climate process to help countries pay for harm already caused by climate change.
  
• Pact for the Future / Global Digital Compact: a political agreement and its digital annex adopted in 2024 that set shared principles and actions for development, peace, and a safe, inclusive digital future.
  

The 80th session shows the United Nations is still the only room where every country speaks, but words must turn into working rules and money on the table. The world needs three things from this session: less war and more humanitarian access, cheaper and fairer finance for development and climate action, and shared rules for the digital age. Pair a more representative Security Council with a results-driven General Assembly and stronger country delivery, and the system can still serve a fair and peaceful world. 

Exam hook

Why should an Indian administrator care about this session? Because what happens in New York affects life at home: debt rules shape interest costs; climate finance shapes city flood defence; digital standards shape safety online; and wars shape fuel prices and migration flows. India’s smart line is to push for debt relief and an “SDG stimulus,” protect humanitarian access, back fair artificial-intelligence rules, and support a wider and more responsible Security Council. This is not charity; it is risk management for a crowded, warming, digital world.

Key takeaways

• The General Assembly gives voice and legitimacy; the Security Council gives legal force. Both are needed.
  
• Displacement reached 123.2 million people; debt hit 102 trillion dollars; only about 17 percent of global targets are on track. These are the hard numbers behind the debates.
  
• The Pact for the Future and Global Digital Compact now move to implementation; the United Nations is setting up a forum and a science panel for artificial-intelligence safety.
  
• Real fixes: humanitarian access, faster debt workouts, loss and damage funding, digital safety standards, and Security Council reform with veto restraint.
  

UPSC Mains question

“The General Assembly gives legitimacy; the Security Council must give legality. In a divided world both are under strain.”  Explain the roles and limits of the General Assembly and the Security Council with reference to current wars and humanitarian crises. (250 words) 

Prelims question

With reference to the United Nations system, consider the following statements:

1. Every member has one vote in the General Assembly and budget decisions need a two-thirds majority.
   
2. Security Council decisions on peace and security are binding on all United Nations members; any one of the five permanent members can block most decisions with a veto.
   
3. The United Nations has 193 members; the Holy See and Palestine are observers at the Assembly.
   

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d)