UNGA wraps with both progress and chaos

World Today

For the UN General Assembly, Monday wrapped a full week that was both high-profile and high drama, with many world leaders using the past week as an opportunity to lash out at their neighbors.

For the UN General Assembly, Monday wrapped a full week that was both high-profile and high drama, with many world leaders using the past week as an opportunity to lash out at their neighbors.

CCTV’s Liling Tan reports the story

Follow Liling Tan on Twitter @LilingTan

South Korea and Japan slammed the DPRK over its nuclear ambitions. The DPRK raged against the U.S. and South Korea over their military provocations. It was also India versus Pakistan over Kashmir? And Ukraine raging against Russia.

“The reason why North Korea has failed(as a state) is because of its fanatical and reckless pursuit of nuclear and missile programs,” said Yun Byung-Se, the South Korean foreign minister.

The week had begun with two summits on how to help more than 21 million refugees, and even though countries agreed to raise aid funding by $4.5 billion, nations had protested plans to resettle 10 percent of the refugee population each year, and NGOs accused the U.N. of missing an opportunity to really make a difference.

Then, Syria happened, sidelining the debates after news broke that a U.N. aid convoy was attacked in Aleppo. The news put the Security Council in crisis mode but several urgent meetings ended up as a platform for the U.S. and Russia to trade barbs.

“What Russia is doing is not counter-terrorism. It’s barbarism,” said Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN.

“We need to see we’re talking about a sincere desire to separate those people who are working with the American coalition from Jabhat al-Nusra,” said Vitaly Churkin, the Russian Ambassador to the UN.

But there was some good news too. There was new momentum on the Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty and hunger, promote health, education and gender equality. Along with that, more than 30 countries ratify the Paris Climate Agreement which could now enter into force by year-end, and new commitments made to support U.N. programs, including from China, which announced plans to raise its annual funding to U.N. agencies by $100 million.


Daniel Serwer on refugee crisis and Syria

To further discuss the latest in the refugee crisis and the UNGA reactions to the events, CCTV America’s Asieh Namdar spoke with Daniel Serwer, director of Conflict Management Program at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).