Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, and Karen Pierce, the British ambassador, right, in the Security Council before a meeting on Libya, Jan. 18, 2019. The authors of the op-ed essay argue that Britain’s role in the UN may diminish as Brexit unfolds. LOEY FELIPE/UN PHOTO
Kelley Currie, the No. 2 ambassador at the UN mission to the UN, speaking with reporters on Oct. 16, 2018, regarding Cuban political prisoners. Currie is leaving the US mission as it awaits a formal ambassador to arrive to succeed Nikki Haley, who resigned on Oct. 9. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO
Secretary-General António Guterres holding a global town hall meeting with United Nations staff members, Jan. 17, 2019. The authors cite instances of tough resistance to Guterres’s systemwide gender parity strategy, including from certain staff unions. MARK GARTEN/UN PHOTO
Brett Schaefer, a fellow at The Heritage Foundation, has been nominated by the White House to be a member of a crucial UN committee on contributions.
Akuei Malwal, left, ambassador for South Sudan to the United Nations; Omer Dahab Fadl Mohamed, Sudan’s envoy; and Joanna Wronecka, Poland’s envoy, in the Security Council, Oct. 11, 2018. The authors suggest that the multilateralism system of the UN can be shored up despite the faltering leadership of America globally. EVAN SCHNEIDER/UN PHOTO
António Guterres, the secretary-general, giving a toast at a luncheon for world leaders gathered at UN headquarters, Sept. 25, 2018. The General Assembly may have laughed at President Trump in his speech that day but, more broadly, leaders are realizing the extent of the US government’s disregarding a constructive role across the earth, the writer says. LI MUZI/POOL
The UN audience could only gasp when Donald Trump made his stormy debut in the United Nations General Assembly in 2017 as president of the United States. This year they laughed in his face.
President Trump entering the UN General Assembly hall before addressing the annual debate, Sept. 25, 2018. In his second speech to the UN Assembly as president, Trump was even more adamant than last year about emphasizing America’s “sovereignty,” claiming this year that the country “will always choose independence and cooperation over global governance, control and domination.” RICK BAJORNAS/UN PHOTO
Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, holding a press conference during the UN General Assembly’s annual general debate, Sept. 21, 2017. He is not speaking at the main session this year but in sideline events. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO
MONTREAL — When he took office in 2015, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised, among other things, to bring Canada back as a leader on the world’s stage.
Donald Trump, president of the United States, prepares for the first time to address the General Assembly’s annual general debate, Sept. 19, 2017. He is scheduled to speak at the UN this year, starting with a brief meeting on the global drug problem on Sept. 24. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO
A year after his bombastic debut at the United Nations as president of the United States, Donald Trump returns on Monday, Sept. 24, to lead a US effort to spur global action to stem the narcotics and opioid plagues. Could the US be asking the UN for help this time?
Major D.K. Kim and Captain Denis Zubac of the UN military observer mission for India and Pakistan, center, meeting people in Minimarg, Pakistan, near the line of control in Kashmir. May 2016. A new controversial UN study on human-rights abuses in the disputed region revealed a long-hidden scene by India. UNMOGIP PHOTO
