Who is leading the 81st U.N. General Assembly and what did he say about the organization?

Khalilur Rahman, a former foreign minister of Bangladesh, is the newly elected President of the 81st Assembly. He said the U.N. must be made fit for the future, adding that trust is in deficit and the organization must move on from 1945.

Why does the article say the U.N. General Assembly is facing such a difficult year?

It cites Russia’s war in Ukraine, the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, chaos in Gaza, the latest flashpoint in Yemen, and major refugee and humanitarian crises across several regions. It also says the Security Council has been deadlocked for more than a decade.

What does the article say about the next U.N. secretary-general selection?

The U.N. must choose a new secretary-general to start in January 2027 after Antonio Guterres finishes his second term. The article says the unofficial mandate is to pick someone from Latin America and preferably a woman, and that there are eight candidates.

UN Assembly convenes amid widening conflicts, chaos, 'trust deficit'

Listen

Summary

UN Assembly convenes in New York for its 81st session amid widening conflicts, humanitarian crises, and what Khalilur Rahman called a trust deficit. The article says the weeklong debate follows speeches by Brazil, the United States, Jordan, Turkey, France and South Korea. It also says the session must contend with wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Yemen, while the U.N. faces the challenge of choosing a new secretary-general for 2027.

Key Facts

Khalilur Rahman, the newly elected President of the 81st Assembly, said the United Nations must become fit for the future and outlined restoring trust and managing transformation as key themes.
The article says the U.N. will need to select a new secretary-general to begin serving in January 2027, and that there are currently eight candidates.
It states that 34 million of Sudan’s 47 million people need humanitarian aid, 22 million of Yemen’s 35 million people need aid, and 15 million of Syria’s 25 million people still require humanitarian assistance.
The Security Council has faced deadlock for more than a decade because the U.S., U.K. and France are opposed by Russia and China on crucial issues.
The article says the Strait of Hormuz carries 20 percent of global petroleum supplies and that the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is a crucial oil conduit challenged by Houthi attacks.

By John J. Metzler

Published Sep 22, 2026 2:30 pm KST

Presidents, prime ministers, kings and potentates are convening in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. The upcoming 81st Assembly not only brings together its 193 member states to discuss and debate global conflict, but also to hopefully try to resolve political and humanitarian crises in what has become a decade of widening chaos, increasing numbers of refugees and resource shortfalls.

Traditionally the speeches in the cavernous Assembly hall begin with the presidents of Brazil and the United States; that begins Tuesday and lasts for a full week on what soon seems like endless palaver. Following Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump comes the King Abdullah II of Jordan, Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Emmanuel Macron of France and Lee Jae Myung of South Korea.

But beyond the formal speeches, it’s on the Assembly sidelines and in unofficial talks and bilateral meetings where amazing combinations of delegates and interest groups present their cases before groups like the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the European Union and so on.

Khalilur Rahman, a former foreign minister of Bangladesh, became the newly elected President of the 81st Assembly. “We must make the United Nations fit for the future … We have a situation where trust is in deficit," he told assembled delegates during his inaugural address. “This is not 1945. This is the 81st session. The world has moved on. The organization must move on.”

Rahman outlined a key theme for the year: restoring trust and managing transformation.

Naturally, the new Assembly session faces multifaceted crises, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, chaos in Gaza and the latest flashpoint in Yemen. Combine this with the endless Palestinian and Gaza debate in all its creative permutations, massive humanitarian crises and refugee displacements in places ranging from Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, and you begin to see the picture.

Consider a few staggering numbers: out of Sudan’s population of 47 million, 34 million need humanitarian aid. Of Yemen’s population of 35 million, 22 million need aid. Syria, where the guns have finally fallen silent, from a population of 25 million, 15 million still require humanitarian assistance.

We are not just talking about military conflict but the dire downstream effects of refugees, displacement and the unintended impacts conflicts have on food and fuel supplies. The war in Ukraine has dangerously impacted grain supplies being shipped through the Black Sea from both Ukraine and Russia.

The powerful 15-member Security Council, tasked with maintaining international peace and security, has faced deadlock for more than a decade as the five permanent members, which each hold a veto, face off on crucial issues — the U.S., U.K. and France against Russia and China.

Then there’s the lingering and still murky issue of artificial intelligence (AI) — the perpetual AI genie that is out of the bottle but about which nobody really knows the parameters or the consequences.

Secretary general election

Yet beyond the perennial issues of war and peace and global humanitarian development, the U.N. has an uphill challenge this fall; selecting a new secretary-general to lead the global organization starting in January 2027.

For two terms over the past decade Antonio Guterres of Portugal has led the United Nations, and his second term was tempestuous and controversial. Russia’s war in Ukraine strained the organization both in political credibility and humanitarian mettle, while the aftermath of the Oct.7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel deepened divides.

Selecting a new secretary-general from Latin America, and preferably a woman, is the unofficial mandate. There are currently eight candidates.

Major Conflicts

Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen, Gaza and Ukraine are all on the sharp end of crises. The return of the Houthis, the Iranian-backed proxy in beleaguered Yemen, is a case and point. The Houthi terrorists challenge merchant shipping in the strategic waters of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean. The new Houthi flare up targeting Saudi Arabian oil shipments has reignited, and the Saudis seem hard pressed to secure their sea lanes.

Maritime conflict, ranging from the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20 percent of global petroleum supplies, Yemen’s Bab-el-Mandeb a crucial oil conduit, and the Black Sea grain passage go beyond the military dimension. They control fuel and food supplies, creating both scarcity and higher costs on a global scale and widening existing humanitarian challenges. Significantly, supporting freedom of navigation thus emerges as a core principle for the United States and its partners. Solving these crises would begin to rebalance the world.

John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China."

Explore More