General Debate
General Assembly
General Debate
General Assembly

General Debate

The general debate of the 81st session will be held from Tuesday, 22 September to Saturday, 26 September, and on Monday, 28 September 2026.

The theme for the general debate of the 81st session of the General Assembly is "Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all".

Learn more about the General Debate in the FAQ.

View of the GA Hall with the President of the 81st session at the podium.

Coming up next

    Previously

    Portrait of Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock (President of the General Assembly), President of the General Assembly (closing)
    President of the General Assembly (closing)
    Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock
    President of the General Assembly
    Portrait of His Excellency Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares (Permanent Representative to the United Nations), Timor-Leste
    Timor-Leste
    His Excellency Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Portrait of His Excellency Odo Tevi (Permanent Representative to the United Nations), Vanuatu
    Vanuatu
    His Excellency Odo Tevi
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Portrait of His Excellency Marc Hermanne Gninadoou Araba (Permanent Representative to the United Nations), Benin
    Benin
    His Excellency Marc Hermanne Gninadoou Araba
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Portrait of Her Excellency Christina Markus Lassen (Permanent Representative to the United Nations), Denmark
    Denmark
    Her Excellency Christina Markus Lassen
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Portrait of His Excellency Mohamed Siad Doualeh (Permanent Representative to the United Nations), Djibouti
    Djibouti
    His Excellency Mohamed Siad Doualeh
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations

    Daily schedule

    • SEP 23 TUE
    • SEP 24 WED
    • SEP 25 THU
    • SEP 26 FRI
    • SEP 27 SAT
    • SEP 29 MON
    Speech/Release Date (field_release_date)
    Eritrea
    1. Eritrea His Excellency Osman Saleh Mohammed
    Minister for Foreign Affairs
    Saint Lucia
    2. Saint Lucia His Excellency Alva Romanus Baptiste
    Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs
    Zambia
    3. Zambia His Excellency Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe
    Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
    Canada
    4. Canada Her Excellency Anita Anand
    Minister for Foreign Affairs
    Honduras
    5. Honduras His Excellency Javier Bú Soto
    Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
    Burundi
    6. Burundi His Excellency Edouard Bizimana
    Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation
    Algeria
    7. Algeria His Excellency Ahmed Attaf
    Minister of State
    Nicaragua
    8. Nicaragua His Excellency Denis Rolando Moncada Colindres
    Minister for Foreign Affairs
    Holy See
    9. Holy See His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher
    Secretary for Relations with States
    Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
    10. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea His Excellency Kim Son Gyong
    Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs
    Republic of Moldova
    11. Republic of Moldova His Excellency Gheorghe Leucă
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Malawi
    12. Malawi Her Excellency Agnes Mary Chimbiri-Molande
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Nepal
    13. Nepal His Excellency Lok Bahadur Thapa
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Djibouti
    14. Djibouti His Excellency Mohamed Siad Doualeh
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Denmark
    15. Denmark Her Excellency Christina Markus Lassen
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Benin
    16. Benin His Excellency Marc Hermanne Gninadoou Araba
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Vanuatu
    17. Vanuatu His Excellency Odo Tevi
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Timor-Leste
    18. Timor-Leste His Excellency Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    Presidencia de la Asamblea General (clausura)
    19. President of the General Assembly (closing) Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock
    President of the General Assembly
    Speech/Release Date (field_release_date)
    António Guterres
    No matter the challenge. No matter the obstacle. No matter the hour. We must – and we will – overcome. Because in a world of many choices, there is one choice we must never make: The choice to give up. We must never give up.
    United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
    The gavel used by Philemon Yang, President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, at the opening of the general debate. UN Photo/Mark Garten

    A Viking gavel?

    In 1952, Iceland, believed to be the oldest democracy in the world, presented the UN with a special gavel. This gavel has since been used to open and close meetings open or closed, mark the approval of the agenda, etc. and sometimes to restore order.

    30 September 2024
    A view of the timer showing the ideal time limit of each speech at the podium in the General Assembly Hall. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

    How long are the speeches?

    A voluntary 15-minute limit is asked to be observed, but some speeches are longer. The record for the general debate? Cuba, in 1980: 269 minutes. 1960 was the year with most very long statements: Guinea (144 minutes), USSR (140 minutes) and Indonesia (121 minutes). 

    30 September 2024
    An interpreter at work in her booth

    Behind the scenes: the interpreters

    At meetings and conferences of Charter or mandated bodies, participants may speak in any of the six official languages. Their words are simultaneously rendered into the other five languages by conference interpreters.

    19 - 26 September 2023
    Khalilur Rahman

    H.E. Mr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. UN Photo / Eskinder Debebe.

    About the General Debate
    What is the General Debate?

    The General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly is the opportunity for Heads of State and Government to come together at the UN Headquarters and discuss world issues.

    On this site, you will find a daily list of speakers, with links to individual pages for each speaker. These pages will be published as soon possible and will present information pertaining to the speaker: an on-demand video, the statement (.pdf) and a summary of the statement, a downloadable photo, and audio files (.mp3).

     

    Learn more in the FAQ