The Takeaway Day 6: General Debate ends with call to turn words into action

General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman addresses the closing of the General Debate of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session.

After six days of speeches from the UN General Assembly podium, one word rose above all others: peace .

This final edition of The Takeaway distils the messages he said reverberated through the Assembly Hall and looks at where the 193-member body goes from here.

Closing the annual general debate on Monday, General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said leaders had confronted a world of conflict, stalled development, deepening inequality and rapidly accelerating technological change. But amid sharply differing perspectives, he heard a common conviction: the United Nations remains indispensable .

Peace came first. Leaders spoke of it not as a distant ambition, President Rahman said, but as an urgent defence of the UN Charter, international law and the protection of civilians.

Development is running out of time. With only a fraction of the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) on track, he offered a blunt verdict on whether more should have been done: “The answer must be a resounding yes.”

Inequality is shaping the debate. Countries facing the greatest debt burdens, climate vulnerability and fiscal constraints also have among the least influence over the institutions shaping the global economy, he observed.

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