UN begins annual meeting
The UN General Assembly starts on Tuesday in New York for its annual debate in an international climate affected by the East-West tensions after the conflict in Georgia and a global economic crisis that threatens to postpone the objectives of combating poverty.
Poverty focus
More than 120 heads of State or Government addressed at the rostrum of the UN and in numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings the many hotbeds of tension in Georgia, Iran, the Middle East or in the process of conflict settlement in Bolivia. The appointment of world diplomacy this year will focus on efforts to achieve the Millennium Goals (MDG) of halving poverty by 2015, in the midst of rising prices of food and energy.
A summit on the MDGs will be held on Thursday, with the participation of figures from the private sector and civil society. On Wednesday, world leaders will talk about mediation and conflict resolution.
The 63rd annual session of the General Assembly of the UN is chaired by former Nicaraguan foreign minister Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, who debuted last week served with a harsh criticism against the hegemony of the United States.
"Our world is in a parlous state, inexcusable and, therefore, shameful," said d'Escoto, a Catholic priest for 75 years, the former Sandinista foreign minister for a year to chair the global forum.
One of the highlights of the general debate which opens on Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be the last speech of President George W. Bush and the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, will participate in the debate and in bilateral meetings after the military intervention in his country in Georgia, that generated strong tensions with the United States.
It is anticipated that the president of Georgia Mikhail Saakachvili on Tuesday launched an international appeal for Moscow after recognition of the independence of the Georgian separatist provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In Latin America, highlights the participation of Bolivian President Evo Morales and for the first time by Argentina's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whose countries also are going through a period of tensions with Washington.
Felipe Calerón the Mexican and Colombian Alvaro Uribe, who will meet in New York with the Republican candidate for vice president Sarah Palin, also attending the event. Instead be absent leaders of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and Cuba, Raúl Castro.
The refusal of Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities, as demanded by the Security Council, will also be an important topic. The foreign ministers of China, United States, Russia, Germany, Britain and France, will meet on the sidelines of the debate to discuss possible new sanctions against Tehran.
On Friday there will be a further meeting of the Quartet for Middle East (U.S., UN, Russia and the EU) to try to relaunch the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
