UN changes ‘overdue’ but General Assembly still ‘essential’
23 September 2026
The UN General Assembly is entering its second day in New York City on Wednesday (23 September).
Speeches from the leaders of Ukraine and Iran are set to be heard following remarks from President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday, 22 September.
Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, Conflict and Global Development at the University of Reading, and a United Nations expert, provides expert comment on the significance of the General Assembly.
For interviews, contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk.
Professor Rosa Freedman said: “The UN is entering one of the most testing periods in its history. It faces hard questions about its funding, how it is run and whether it can still keep the promises it was built on. Changes are overdue, but in the rush to fix what is broken we must not lose what still works. The UN remains the only place where every country in the world can sit down and talk. At a time when diplomacy is too often drowned out by threats and grandstanding, that is not a luxury. It is essential.
“That is what the opening of the UN General Assembly offers. Leaders and senior representatives from all 193 member states take to the stage, and many more conversations happen away from it, in formal meetings and quiet corridors.
“After eight decades, countries at war with one another still share the same rooms. That alone is a remarkable achievement. So too is the freedom to disagree openly within them. Delegations walk out of speeches they object to, and critics are given a platform to challenge governments and their policies.
“These spaces are rare and fragile. If they are lost, there may be nowhere left for the world to talk.”
Speeches from the leaders of Ukraine and Iran are set to be heard following remarks from President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday, 22 September.
Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, Conflict and Global Development at the University of Reading, and a United Nations expert, provides expert comment on the significance of the General Assembly.
For interviews, contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk.
Professor Rosa Freedman said: “The UN is entering one of the most testing periods in its history. It faces hard questions about its funding, how it is run and whether it can still keep the promises it was built on. Changes are overdue, but in the rush to fix what is broken we must not lose what still works. The UN remains the only place where every country in the world can sit down and talk. At a time when diplomacy is too often drowned out by threats and grandstanding, that is not a luxury. It is essential.
“That is what the opening of the UN General Assembly offers. Leaders and senior representatives from all 193 member states take to the stage, and many more conversations happen away from it, in formal meetings and quiet corridors.
“After eight decades, countries at war with one another still share the same rooms. That alone is a remarkable achievement. So too is the freedom to disagree openly within them. Delegations walk out of speeches they object to, and critics are given a platform to challenge governments and their policies.
“These spaces are rare and fragile. If they are lost, there may be nowhere left for the world to talk.”
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