The General debate of the seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was opened on 25 September and ran until 1 October 2018. Leaders from a number of member states addressed the UNGA.
Organisation and subjects The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observers entities will have a chance to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers will be put on the list in the order of their request, with special consideration for ministers and other government officials of similar or higher rank. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in of the United Nations official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and will be translated by the United Nations translators. Each speaker is requested to provide 20 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation and to be presented at the podium. The theme for this year's debate was chosen by President María Fernanda Espinosa as: "Making the United Nations relevant to all people: Global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies."
Speaking schedule Since 1955, Brazil and the United States are the first and second countries to speak. For this session, however, President of the United States Donald Trump arrived late, causing President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador to speak second. Other countries follow according to a speaking schedule issued by the Secretariat.
The list of speakers is provided by both the daily UN Journal, while changes in order are also reflected by the UNGA General Debate website.
25 September Morning session – Secretary-General António Guterres – 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa – President Michel Temer – Constitutional President Lenin Moreno Garcés – President Donald J. Trump – Constitutional President Lenin Moreno Garcés (Scheduled) – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – President Paul Kagame – President Enrique Peña Nieto – President Emmanuel Macron – President Danny Faure – President Martín Vizcarra – King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein – Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al -Thani – President Hassan Rouhani – President Sauli Niinistö – President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (Scheduled) – President Faure Gnassingbé (Scheduled) – President Muhammadu Buhari – President Cyril Ramaphosa
Evening session – President Jimmy Morales – President Arthur Peter Mutharika – President Jimmy Morales (Scheduled) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi – President Mario Abdo Benítez – President Mauricio Macri – President Alain Berset – President Maithripala Sirisena – President Borut Pahor – President Edgar Chagwa Lungu – President Joseph Kabila Kabange – President Sooronbay Jeenbekov – President Adama Barrow – President Hilda Heine – Chairman of the Presidency Bakir Izetbegović – President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (Scheduled) – President Hilda Heine (Scheduled) – President Danilo Medna Sánchez – Prime Minister Shinzō Abe – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan – Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani
26 September Morning session – President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez – President Hage Geingob – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo – President Kersti Kaljulaid – President Michel Aoun – President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović – President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour – President Tabaré Vázquez – President Iván Duque Márquez – President Tabaré Vázquez (Scheduled) – King Tupou VI – President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita – President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço – President of the Council of Ministers Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez – President George Manneh Weah – President Andrej Kiska – President Moon Jae-in – President Klaus Werner Iohannis – Prime Minister Theresa May – Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah – President of the Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte
Evening session – President Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca – King Mswati III – President Petro Poroshenko – King Mswati III (Scheduled) – President Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado – President Uhuru Kenyatta – President Taneti Maamau – President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa – President Andrzej Duda – President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – President Salvador Sánchez Cerén – President Baron Divavesi Waqa – President Evo Morales Ayma – President Tommy Esang Remengesau, Jr. – President Nicolás Maduro Moros – Head of State Faustin Archange Touadera – Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah – Prime Minister Xavier Bettel – Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Scheduled) – Prime Minister Mark Rutte – Prime Minister Erna Solberg
Right of Reply Member states have the option to reply to comments on the day (or even to the days prior), but are limited to 10 minutes for the first response and five minutes for the second response. All speeches are made from the floor, as opposed to the podium for the General Debate.
Azerbaijan's delegate took the floor to reply to Armenia in saying that the prime minister talks of the Velvet Revolution while he is the same as his predecessors. He added words needed to be put into action to mean something. This ought to start with the start with return of Azeris to Nagorno-Karabakh (NKO), the occupied districts and some exclaves. He suggested that Armenia had ethnically expelled non-Armenians while other minorities, including Armenians, were living in Baku and elsewhere in the country.
Armenia then replied to Azerbaijan's statement.
Azerbaijan took the floor for the second time in saying that it demanded cessation of hostilities first and foremost from Armenian forces. "Armenia intentionally disregarded the Security Council to establish a stable ceasefire. Events before and after each resolution makes clear that Armenia issues baseless allegations and leave no doubt as to who continues hostilities. [There is] no doubt claims by Armenia run counter to the norms of international law and are without foundation. NKO and the seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan are under Armenian military occupation. Armenia has established a subordinate regime that is unrecognized and under the control of Armenia. This was formed by racism[, etc]. Armenia's claims are a threat to peace and security. [Armenia's actions are a result] of deep political crisis and the economic situation in that country. [There is] no doubt the international community has not heard from the Armenian delegation and what problems the economy faces: an economic drop and high [em]migration of its citizens. Neither the prime minister nor the delegation, in the statement, mentioned any efforts the government makes [in this regard] and to implement the Development Goals. [There is] silence because there is nothing to say. As I said before and will stress again, the earlier Armenia realises the lack of any prospect for its dangerous agenda, the quicker the conflict would be solved and the two countries will benefit from peace..."
Armenia then used its second reply to say that one should recall media outlets which featured all the details and descriptions given on the "massacre of the Armenian population in Azerbaijan. Who attack who first, how it started, what was the source [of the conflict]...it is important that people read the papers from 30 years ago not today because today from Azerbaijan they are merely lying on what happened 30 years ago. Unfortunately, there is no single human rights activist, human rights defender [or anyone] who speaks freely in Azerbaijan because those who spoke correctly are behind bars these days. The Security Council's call for hostilities to stop was made by Armenia on May 1, 1994 when it was willing to sign a ceasefire of the de facto NKO, Armenia signed on to it. The main parties are Azerbaijan and NKO authorities. It is awful to see what happens in Azerbaijan...[unlike] any visitor from any country in the world, whether for tourism or business, [would see NKO] is sincere in its values. [Meanwhile] all the blackmail is made by Azerbaijan to limit freedom to travel, freedom of movement [on NKO authorities]. NKO is fully abiding by...unilaterally abiding by rules. It has unilaterally ratified important UN convention like the civil and political rights, rights of the child, economic and social rights and other important documents. Armenia will be soon presenting...sorry NKO [will be] voluntary presenting its national review for high level review on developmental goals progress. the threat is only from Azerbaijan. This is exacerbated by a 1,000 Azerbaijani citizens fighting in the so-called Azeri Brigade of ISIS who have appeared on the border. They have declared to leave Raqqa to fight NKO...[to restart the war but have] luckily, and not surprisingly, and logically lost the war they had again started by Azerbaijan. Peace negotiations are in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group. The main principles put forth are [1.] the non use of force of threat of force, [2.] territorial integrity, and the [3.] rights of the people. Azerbaijan seemingly forgets self-determination and territorial integrity. The solution is in the negotiation format and these are the three important principles.
27 September Morning session – President Dalia Grybauskaitė – President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi – President Nicos Anastasiades – President Sebastián Piñera Echeñique (Scheduled) Republic of Macedonia – President Gjorge Ivanov – President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – President Jovenel Moïse – President Sebastián Piñera Echeñique – President Julius Maada Bio – President Mahmoud Abbas – President of the European Council Donald Tusk – Prime Minister Charles Michel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Prime Minister Joseph Muscat – Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc – Prime Minister Andrew Holness – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves
Evening session – President Patrice Athanase Guillaume Talon (Scheduled) – President Peter Christian – President José Mário Vaz – President Azali Assoumani – President ad interim Rivo Rakotovao – Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla – Vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan – Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr – Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli – Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – President of the Government Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón – Prime Minister Ana Brnabić – Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda – Acting Head of Government Lyonpo Tshering Wangchuk – Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed – Minister for Foreign Affairs, Justice and Culture Aurelia Frick – Minister of Foreign Affairs Lejeune Mbella Mbella United Republic of Tanzania – Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Augustine Phillip Mahiga – Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mahamoud Ali Youssouf – Minister of Foreign Affairs Workineh Gebeyehu Negewo – Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Robert Dussey
Right of Reply