September 20, 2022: World leaders gather at UN General Assembly

Poland's President Andrzej Duda addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

Polish President Andrzej Duda reiterated his country’s support for Ukraine and for the refugees who have fled the war-torn country.

“I am one of those politicians that even before the war believed the Ukraine would successfully defend itself,” Duda said during remarks at the UN General Assembly.

More than 6 million Ukrainian refugees have fled across the border to Poland since the start of the war, according to Duda. He said now, some of them are “permanent guests,” with about 2 million people still living in his country, while others go back and forth between Poland and Ukraine.

The Polish president also talked about food insecurity and shared concerns about Russian troops destroying crops or blocking shipments of grain. He said Poland will “go to great lengths” to help facilitate that grain moving forward, calling hunger a critical issue.

Duda said Russia was “not only threatening Ukraine but the entire world,” pointing to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the threat of nuclear disaster in Europe.

Moving forward: Duda called on countries to increase aid to the Ukrainian civilian population, adding that humanitarian needs are currently greater than the funds that are available. He said while it was “very positive” that Western Europe rallied to support Ukraine during the war, he added, “Let’s not become complacent.”

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Tuesday called on the United Nations to seek accountability for the crimes committed by Alexander Lukashenko and said he should not be recognized as the legitimate leader of Belarus.

Speaking to CNN on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly — which she said she was attending to be “the voice of Belarusians” — Tsikhanouskaya said she believed the UN could do much more when confronting the crisis in Belarus.

Lukashenko, who has been called “Europe’s last dictator,” has clung to power in the eastern European nation for decades, and in 2020 remained in his position despite an election largely condemned as neither free nor fair.

Tsikhanouskaya called for the UN Security Council to hold hearings on Belarus, and said the UN could hold Lukashenko accountable for crimes, human rights abuses and torture. These included, she said, the “hijacking” of a Ryanair flight in 2021 to detain an activist, the creation of a migration crisis along the border with Poland and the possible deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“We understand that at any moment, Russian troops can return,” she said. Lukashenko “freely gives our territory for Russian troops and equipment,” Tsikhanouskaya said, adding that Lukashenko has to be loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin “because it’s the only source of his power.”

Tsikhanouskaya also called for the international community to strengthen its sanctions against the regime, including secondary sanctions. She also called for increased support for civil society.  

US President Joe Biden disembarks Air Force One at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York on September 20.

US President Joe Biden has arrived in New York to attend high-level talks and deliver an address at the United Nations. 

Air Force One landed at JFK airport at 5:25 p.m. ET. 

Ukraine is expected to be a primary focus for Biden during his speech on Wednesday morning and in his talks with world leaders. 

Earlier, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden was coming to New York with the “wind at his back” having unified the West in punishing Russia for its invasion. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Britain's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly hold a sidebar meeting during the 77th United Nations General Assembly.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the fact that Russia is moving ahead with referendums in Ukrainian territory, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly contemplating mobilizing more reserve forces while the United Nations General Assembly is happening, shows Putin’s “utter contempt and disdain” for the UN.

Blinken also said it was not a surprise that Russia was making these moves now, after recent battlefield losses and more widespread concern globally about the war in Ukraine. 

“We’ve seen in the last weeks significant gains by Ukraine in taking that the land its land, seized by Russian forces since the aggression began in Feb. 24. It’s also a time when Russia itself is seeing serious reverses on the battlefield, and even some of its closest partners are clearly raising their deep concerns about what Russia is doing, and the consequences this is having for countries around the world,” Blinken said.

Blinken reiterated that the US will never recognize the sham Russian-backed referendums in Ukraine, or any move by Russia to annex Ukrainian territory. He said it is important for other countries to also make that clear.

Blinken said that these actions are a sign of weakness.

“It is a sign of Russian failure,” Blinken said of Russia’s recent actions and Putin’s reported plans.

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda reiterated his support Tuesday for the people of Ukraine and called on UN members to do more to help the country that was invaded by Russia.

“We must ensure that all those responsible for this unprecedented assault on European peace and security are held accountable,” Nausėda told the UN General Assembly.

He also urged members to address the atrocities that are being committed in Ukraine.

On Zaporizhzhia: Nausėda spoke of the real threat of a looming nuclear disaster in Europe, calling the deployment of Russian military personnel and weaponry at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant “alarming and totally unacceptable.”

The Lithuanian leader said the staging of military forces at nuclear facilities “disregards the safety and security principles that all members of the International Atomic Energy Agency have committed to respect.” 

He called on UN members to “collectively condemn such actions” and require Russia to “immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine,” including Zaporizhzhia.

Some historical context: Nausėda called Russia a “dangerous imperial power” that was seeking to occupy and annex its neighbors. It’s a fear that runs deeply in Lithuania, a former part of the Soviet Union that is now a member of the EU and NATO. Tens of thousands of Lithuanians were forcibly deported to gulags in Siberia and the far north by the Soviets in the 1940s and 1950s. Almost 30,000 Lithuanian prisoners perished in the forced labor camps.

Honduras’ President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

The President of Honduras, Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento, hailed her speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday as a “historic event.”

“I stand before this global rostrum in what for my country is a historic event,” Castro said.

Castro said only when the world understands the difficulties faced by the people in Honduras following “the 2009 coup, which saw was mired in cruel killings, and death squadrons to fraudulent elections, pandemic and two hurricanes,’ would people understand why migrant caravans travel north towards the United States.

“It is impossible to understand the Honduran people, men and women and the huge caravans of migrants without recognizing this context of cruel suffering, which we have been forced to endure,” Castro said.

U.N. security members patrol outside the building during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City.

For the first time in three years, world leaders are gathering in person for the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

After a short break, remarks continued this afternoon. Here’s who is expected to speak next:

France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly.

French President Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi that the ball is in Iran’s court regarding a nuclear deal, according to an on-camera interview the French president gave to CNN affiliate BFM TV following the meeting between the two presidents.

It was Raisi’s first high-level meeting with a Western leader since he took office last year.

Raisi said improving Iran’s relationship with Europe depended on European nations remaining independent from the “will and opinions” of the US, according to a statement on Raisi’s official website. 

In his remarks to BFM, Macron said he had a long discussion with Raisi and that it would be followed by other “technical exchanges.”

The French president reiterated that France wants to see a “sincere framework,” verifiable by the International Atomic Energy Agency to preserve the security of the region. 

“I’ve been clear on the framework and you can’t play with trust and security,” he said.

The Iranian president said his country was ready to reach a “fair and stable” agreement but that Iran’s open cases with the IAEA needed to be closed, according to the statement from Raisi’s office.

Raisi said Iran’s activities in the region were “peace-making” and helped prevent the spread of terrorism in Europe.

At a gathering of women leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, the number of attending heads of state or government reflected the sparse distribution of women in power globally.

But while “they may be small in number … they pack a punch,” said former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who was chairing the event. 

As the hashtag #womenleaders glowed on screens around the chamber, multiple speakers cited the same sobering statistic: Given the current rate of female representation at the highest levels of power, it could take the world 130 years to reach gender parity.

Speaking first, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland urged nations to consider lessons learned in her country, where female officials served in primary roles in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Iceland chose not to shutter preschools, primary schools or domestic abuse shelters in order to maintain vital services that primarily affect women, she said. Jakobsdóttir also noted that incidents of rape in Iceland dropped by 43% during the pandemic, which she attributed to the closure of bars and clubs. 

Aruba’s Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes, in contrast, directed the chamber’s attention toward the future. After acknowledging that leaders are grappling with simultaneous challenges from Covid-19, climate change, and conflict, she said, “I’m asking myself — are we preparing enough female leaders to take over?”

Hungarian President Katalin Novák focused on family, calling on leaders to make it possible for women to have both children and fulfilling professional lives, citing examples of Hungary’s financial incentives for women who have multiple children.

“If we give up on having children, we won’t have daughters to fulfill what we started,” she said, describing the need for a world in which her daughter “won’t have to prove at every moment that she is capable.” 

Novak also reflected on the event itself: “I hope that in later years that this room will be filled with women leaders,” she said, adding that perhaps one day there might no longer be a need for a separate event for women leaders at all.

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö urged the international community to come together in solidarity to uphold laws and principles of human rights, against the backdrop of Russia’s “unprovoked war” in Ukraine.

Speak at the United National General Assembly on Tuesday, Niinistö said Russia is “raging a brutal war in Ukraine” and while countries and members of the assembly might not always agree, “it our common obligation to uphold” rules around international laws and human rights, he said.

“Russia use of force is in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations,” Niinistö added.

These are all things that impact vulnerable countries the most who are already under stress from the climate crisis and the pandemic, he said. In order to respond to these challenges, Niinistö said there needs to be “collective action” and sustainable solutions.

“This truly is a watershed moment,” he said.

Niinistö said the UNGA, where world leaders are in the same place, in person for the first time in several years, is an opportunity to engage in dialogue. Now, he said, is the time to show “solidarity” and cooperation between countries.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for an end to the “Russian-Ukrainian crisis” on Tuesday,  saying the seven-month war had sent a “wave of shock” around the globe.

Erdogan expressed that “war will never have a triumph and a fair peace process will not have a loser,” in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He called on the world to “support the peaceful initiatives of Turkey to settle this dispute once and for all. We need a dignified way out of this crisis. And that can only be possible through a diplomatic solution which is rational, which is fair, and which is applicable.” 

The Turkish leader underlined the need for “diplomacy in the settlement of the disputes through dialogue” and celebrated his part in negotiating the Black Sea Grain Initiative agreed in Istanbul, “as a result of the heavy efforts that we have invested together with the UN secretary-general which managed to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, finding its way through the rest of the global markets. 

“This is a critical agreement that was undertaken jointly with the United Nations, and this is one of the greatest accomplishments of the United Nations in the recent decades,” he added. 

Erdogan said the “Istanbul Convention proves once again that negotiations can yield results, especially in issues which are vital to all the parties involved.”

Anti-Bolsonaro activists project an image of the Brazilian president on the side of the United Nations building in New York City.

A group of activists projected images of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the side of the UN building in New York late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, just hours before Bolsonaro lead off the UN General Assembly with the first speech from a world leader.

Photos of Bolsonaro calling him “liar,” “Brazilian shame,” and “disgrace” in different languages were projected on the building by members of the US Network for Democracy in Brazil, a civil society group that aims to educate the public in the United States about the current political climate in Brazil.

The group has been vocal and critical of Bolsonaro.

A spokesperson for the United Nations late Tuesday disputed the activists’ claim that the images were projected on any UN building.

Last year, the US Network for Democracy in Brazil conducted a similar protest hours before Bolsonaro’s opening speech at the UN. A truck with screens displaying the words “Bolsonaro is burning the Amazon” were seen in the vicinity of the UN headquarters.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, recently-elected Colombian president Gustavo Petro strongly condemned the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

“Here in the Amazon jungle is a failure of humanity,” he said, slamming the exploitation of the rainforest’s resources for profit by businesses.

Petro went on to say, “For power relations in the world the jungle and its inhabitants are those responsible for the plague that inflicts them.”

He called the discourse around saving the jungle “hypocritical” and said recommendations and warnings from scientists about the destruction of the rainforest, have been ignored.

 Protection for the Amazon rainforest has been an issue Petro has been vocal about.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly.

Abandoning the careful wording that characterizes so much diplomacy at the UN, Colombian President Gustavo Petro in his speech attacked the global north, contrasting the dangers of drug addiction to what he described as humanity’s even more damaging “addiction to power, and to money.”

“What is more harmful to humanity? Cocaine, carbon or oil?” he asked.

Yet “carbon and oil are protected even though their use could leave humanity to extinction. This is how world power works,” he added, to murmurs in the assembly hall.

Petro, the first leftwing president in Colombia’s history, called on all of Latin America to reject the war on drugs. “We conceal the loneliness of society by blaming the plant (coca),” he said.

He also accused the global north of “reproducing 1933 at a planetary scale” in its treatment of migrants fleeing crushing environmental conditions, and of seeking to profit off of global disasters like the Covid-19 pandemic.

His speech received a robust round of applause.

Presidential candidate for the political alliance Pacto Historico Gustavo Petro (Left) and his running mate for Colombia's vice-presidency Francia Marquez (Out of frame) sign their official candidacy to the National Registry of Colombia on March 25, 2022, in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Sebastian Barros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Related article Left-wing candidate and former guerrilla Gustavo Petro wins Colombian presidential race | CNN

French President Emmanuel Macron met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the United Nations Tuesday, according to a diplomatic source. 

It’s the first high-level meeting with a Western country for Raisi since taking office last year. 

The meeting took place as efforts to bring back the nuclear agreement has stalled.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Related article Blinken calls Iran's latest response to nuclear deal proposal a 'step backward'

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday called for diplomacy as the best way to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

In an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Bolsonaro said the first step toward lasting peace must be “an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians and noncombatants, the preservation of critical infrastructure to assist the population.”

Bolsonaro said Brazil does not see sanctions against Russia as a viable way to end the seven-month conflict that started following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We do not believe that the best way is to adopt unilateral and selective sanctions that are inconsistent with international law. These measures have harmed the economic recovery and threatened the human rights of vulnerable populations, including in European countries,” Bolsonaro said.

“The solution to the conflict in Ukraine will only be achieved through negotiation and dialogue,” he said.

Some context: In April, Reuters reported Russia asked Brazil for support in the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the G20 group of top economies in the face of sanctions.

Bolsonaro, who has kept Brazil neutral in the Ukraine crisis, expressed “solidarity” when he visited Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 16, about a week before the invasion began. Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca previously said Brazil opposes the expulsion of Russia from the G20.

Electric billboard buses have been circulating around Manhattan’s east side in the vicinity of the United Nations, with illuminated signs on the sides targeting Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi.

Each panel shows images of Mahsa Amini — the young Iranian woman who died this month after being detained by Iran’s morality police — and lays the blame for her death at Raisi’s feet. The Iranian president has ordered an investigation into the circumstances of Amini’s death, which is galvanizing protests in Iran as well.

Iranian officials have said that Amini suffered a “heart attack” and fell into a coma following her arrest. However, her family said she did not have a pre-existing heart condition, according to Emtedad news, an Iranian pro-reform media outlet that claimed to have spoken to Amini’s father.

Demonstrators gather around a burning barricade during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic Republic's "morality police," in Tehran on September 19, 2022.

Related article Five people killed in Iran in protests over death of woman in police custody, human rights group says

As the UN general debate opened in New York on a grey Tuesday morning, environmental activists chanted, sang and waved banners outside the UN headquarters, calling for leaders to stop the “murder” of the planet and destruction of the Amazon, singling out Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in particular.

Inside the opulent green and gold assembly hall, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres echoed protesters’ calls for climate action, kicking off the day of speeches with a warning that the planet is burning and global action to stop it still halting and uncoordinated.

As diplomats huddled and whispered in hushed tones, Bolsonaro himself took the stage.

The first country leader to speak, by tradition, the Brazilian president — who faces a reelection battle in October — attacked his country’s previous left-leaning government and touted “efforts to modernize Brazil’s economy” and food production under his presidency.

Briefly, he said that much of the Amazon remains untouched — but also argued that indigenous communities living in the vast forest need economic activity. Deforestation in the forest has skyrocketed under Bolsonaro, who has encouraged expansion of the country’s agribusiness and other commercial industries that make use of Brazil’s natural resources.

TOPSHOT - A deforested and burnt area is seen on a stretch of the BR-230 (Transamazonian highway) in Humaitá, Amazonas State, Brazil, on September 16, 2022. - According to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), hotspots in the Amazon region saw a record increase in the first half of September, being the average for the month 1,400 fires per day. (Photo by MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Deforestation is accelerating in Brazil as Bolsonaro's first term ends, experts say | CNN

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres speaks at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 20, in New York City. 

During his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the world must end its “suicidal war against nature.”

“The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time. It must be the first priority of every government and multilateral organization,” Guterres said while adding that climate action is being “put on the back burner” by countries despite its overwhelming public support.

He said that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed by 45% by 2030 to have “any hope of reaching net zero by 2050.” The UN chief noted that presently “emissions are going up at record levels – on course to a 14% increase this decade.”

“We have a rendezvous with climate disaster,” Guterres said, adding that “Planet Earth is a victim of scorched-earth policies.”

He continued: “And we ain’t seen nothing yet. The hottest summers of today may be the coolest summers of tomorrow.”

The UN chief pointed out that the G20 countries emit 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions. “But the poorest and most vulnerable – those who contributed least to this crisis – are bearing its most brutal impacts,” he said.

Guterres called out the fossil fuel industry, claiming it is “feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits.”

Read more.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres displays images of a cargo ship of Ukrainian grain as he addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City on September 20.

In remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, UN chief António Guterres used the description of a ship that transported Ukrainian grain to Africa as a “symbol of what the world can accomplish when we act together.”

“It navigated through a war zone — guided by the very parties to the conflict — as part of an unprecedented comprehensive initiative to get more food and fertilizer out of Ukraine and Russia,” he said.

At the end of August, after 14 days at sea, a shipment of 23,000 metric tons of wheat arrived on the MV Brave Commander in the Horn of Africa to support the United Nations World Food Programme. After Russia blocked Ukrainian Black Sea ports, the UN and Turkey helped broker a deal to get grain out of Ukraine.

“The Black Sea Grain Initiative has opened the pathway for the safe navigation of dozens of ships filled with much needed food supplies. But each ship is also carrying one of today’s rarest commodities: Hope,” he said.

But besides hope, action is needed is stabilize the world’s fertilizer market, Guterres said.

“It is essential to continue removing all remaining obstacles to the export of Russian fertilizers and their ingredients, including ammonia. These products are not subject to sanctions – and we are making progress in eliminating indirect effects,” he said.

“Without action now, the global fertilizer shortage will quickly morph into a global food shortage,” he warned.