The 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) officially opens today at the organization's headquarters in New York. The large-scale international event brings together representatives of all 193 Member States in an effort to find solutions to the most pressing humanitarian and political crises. The new president of the session is Halilur Rahman of Bangladesh, and the official motto of this year's forum is “Rebuilding trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all“ (see the official statement on the UN website: www.un.org).
The central event of the first month of the assembly's work will be high-level policy debates. This so-called “High-level Week“ will be held by 22 to 28 September 2026. It will be attended by heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers from around the world. The traditional first speaker of the debates will be Brazil, followed by the United States (according to the UN Web TV broadcast schedule: webtv.un.org).
In addition to the main debates, several summits of critical importance are also on the agenda. On 18 September, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Moment) meeting will be held, and later in the month, high-level discussions will be held on climate change, the existential threats of rising sea levels and preparedness for future pandemics (reference from the UN Foundation program: unfoundation.org). One of the leading topics on the sidelines of the UN this year is expected to be the upcoming race to elect a new Secretary-General of the organization.