World leaders will gather in New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly starting September 19th. The event features speeches from all 193 UN member states, two non-member observer states, and an observer member, with Brazil traditionally speaking first followed by the United States. Leaders are asked to limit their speeches to 15 minutes but past exceptions include Fidel Castro's nearly five-hour speech in 1960. This year’s theme is "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All," though leaders will likely address topics like artificial intelligence and Iran during their remarks.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Explainer-Why are world leaders at the UN next week and what will they talk about?
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they → talk → what
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 - World leaders gather in New York every September for several days of high-level debate starting on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly.
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leaders → gather → Assembly
WHO SPEAKS WHEN?
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WHO → speak → ?
The United Nations was formed in 1945 with 51 original members and has since grown to 193 members.
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Nations → form → members
Leaders of two non-member observer states – known at the UN as the Holy See and the State of Palestine – and an observer member, the European Union, can also speak.
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Leaders → know → Palestine
This month marks the start of the 81st session.
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month → mark → session
It is tradition for Brazil to always be the first member state to speak.
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Brazil → speak → ?
This is because in the early years of the world body Brazil stepped up to speak first when other countries were reluctant to do so, say UN officials.
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officials → step → body
As host to the UN headquarters in New York, the United States is the second country to address the General Assembly.
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States → address → Assembly
From there the list is then based on hierarchy and generally on a first-come, first-served basis.
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list → base → basis
Heads of state speak first, followed by deputy heads of state and crown princes, heads of government, ministers and lower-ranking heads of a delegation.
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Heads → speak → delegation
HOW LONG WILL THEY SPEAK?
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THEY → speak → ?
Leaders are asked to stick to a voluntary 15-minute time limit.
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Leaders → ask → limit
According to UN records, one of the longest speeches made during the opening of a General Assembly was in 1960 by Cuban leader Fidel Castro who spoke for about 4-1/2 hours.
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who → accord → hours
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi spoke for more than 1-1/2 hours in 2009.
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Gaddafi → speak → 2009
WHAT WILL THEY TALK ABOUT?
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THEY → talk → WHAT
Each start of a General Assembly session has a theme.
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start → have → theme
Leaders might briefly refer to the theme before moving on to whatever topic they like.
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they → refer → topic
This year's theme is: "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All."
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That → restore → All
Other topics that leaders are likely to address and discuss in meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly include:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
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leaders → address → INTELLIGENCE
The high-level General Assembly will convene just weeks after several AI industry leaders called for a coordinated slowdown of the development of the increasingly powerful technology, warning that it could soon improve on its own and slip beyond human control.
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it → convene → control
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday the warnings cannot be ignored and that AI would be a major topic of his discussions with world leaders next week, telling reporters that countries on the frontiers of AI needed to communicate and establish "common guardrails in order to avoid this race to the bottom that could lead one day to a gigantic disaster at the global level."
The UN Security Council may meet next week on AI, diplomats said.
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diplomats → say → AI
The 15-member council met for the first time on artificial intelligence in 2023.
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council → meet → 2023
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday, seven months after the United States and Israel went to war with Tehran.
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States → schedule → Tehran
However, his travel to New York appears uncertain.
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travel → appear → York
Abbas Mousavi, Pezeshkian's chief of protocol, said on Monday it was still unclear how many members of the Iranian delegation would be issued visas by the United States and when.
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members → say → States
While US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of several countries involved in trying to mediate an end to the war will also be at the United Nations next week, a breakthrough in the stalled diplomacy is unlikely.
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breakthrough → involve → diplomacy
The UN Security Council may hold an informal meeting with Arab leaders next week, diplomats said, at which Iran is expected to be the key topic of discussion.
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Iran → hold → discussion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be seeking to shore up global support for Kyiv as Trump tries to broker an end to the war more than four years after Russia invaded its neighbor.
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Russia → seek → neighbor
He is due to address the assembly on Wednesday while Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will speak on Saturday.
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Lavrov → address → Saturday
The UN Security Council is also expected to hold a high-level meeting on Ukraine next week.
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Council → expect → Ukraine
It has been unable to take any action to try to end the war as Russia is a veto power.
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Russia → take → war
Trump has at times appeared frustrated that he has been unable to broker an end to the war, a goal he declared a priority when he began his second term in January last year.
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he → appear → January
The US president spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this month, but it is unclear if he plans to meet Zelenskiy in New York.
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he → speak → York
Israel's Netanyahu – wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, which Israel denies – is due to address the General Assembly on Thursday next week.
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Israel → want → Thursday
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani believes Netanyahu should be arrested, but said in July he lacked the legal authority.
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he → believe → authority
Mamdani said on Wednesday he had no plans to attend any anti-Netanyahu protests next week, but that he respected the right of New Yorkers to demonstrate.
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he → say → Yorkers
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend the General Assembly in person.
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Abbas → attend → person
The United States, a close Israeli ally, has again said it will not give him a visa.
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it → say → visa
He is likely to appear via video – also on Thursday – as he did last year.
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he → appear → Thursday
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
