The Security Council began meeting in its chamber this month, complete with plastic dividers, for the first time since the pandemic started: Nicolas de Rivière, France’s ambassador, left, and Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s envoy, right, Oct. 15, 2020. ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO
David Beasley, the head of the World Food Program and an American, spoke to the media at UN headquarters in New York City remotely on Oct. 16, 2020. The agency was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a week earlier, and he used the briefing to plea for billions of more dollars in donations to the agency to stave off famines in certain countries. He also asked billionaires to pitch in as nations are “tapped out” from the pandemic financially. JOHN PENNEY
In October 2015, the Security Council held a debate on women, peace and security to review the status of Resolution 1325, which was adopted on Oct. 31, 2000, to recognize the effects of war on women and built on the 1995 Beijing conference for gender equality. The essay’s experts map how the visions of the Beijing conference have been integrated into US foreign policy but the fact is, gender equality remains elusive globally. AMANDA VOISARD/UN PHOTO
A delegate at the United Nations, Ambassador Mariangela Zappia of Italy, casts her vote as the General Assembly elects new members to the Human Rights Council amid the pandemic. The winners were: Bolivia, Britain, China, Cuba, France, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, Oct. 13, 2020. LOEY FELIPE/UN PHOTO
David Beasley, the World Food Program director, center, traveling the past week in northern Burkina Faso with Peter Eriksson, left, Sweden’s minister for development aid, and others. The UN agency was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 9, 2020, for its work fighting hunger globally and preventing the use of hunger as a weapon of war. ERIK ESBJORNSSON
Besides bragging about his perceived accomplishments and castigating China, President Trump was surprisingly benevolent toward the United Nations in his pre-recorded video speech to the General Assembly opening session. JOHN PENNEY
Fake news alert: President Donald Trump said something vaguely positive about the United Nations during his speech marking the opening of this year’s General Assembly session.
President Trump spoke about seven minutes in his video speech at the United Nations General Assembly opening-day speeches, the same day America’s death toll from the coronavirus hit 200,000. JOHN PENNEY
Secretary-General António Guterres at the ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of the death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, a Swede; Sept. 15, 2020. The UN General Assembly begins its formal 75th session this week, with no world leaders coming to New York City but sending video messages instead. ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO
President Trump attending the United Nations lunch for world leaders at last year’s annual opening debate of the General Assembly, in the pre-Covid-19 universe. It is unclear if he is physically attending this year’s session; if not, he will likely deliver his remarks by video, like other leaders. Some UN-watchers are expecting more harsh criticism, or worse, from him on the UN. LI MUZI/XINHUA POOL PHOTO
Zuzana Caputova, the president of Slovakia, addressing the General Assembly’s 74th session, Sept. 24, 2019. This year, she is the first woman to speak at the opening session, No. 53 on the UN’s provisional list of speakers, reflecting the abysmally low number of female heads of state, 22. CIA PAK/UN PHOTO
