Trudeau to attend United Nations General Assembly amid turbulence around the world

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his way to the podium for a news conference at the Canadian Permanent Mission, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to be in New York this week for the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future amid increasing geopolitical instability around the world.

"Canada will have a leading role in making the world fairer and more prosperous," Trudeau said in a news release last week. "I look forward to working with other leaders to accelerate progress on our shared priorities and build a better future for everyone."

While the prime minister is attending the assembly in New York until Wednesday, the Trudeau government is expected to face its first test in the House of Commons since the NDP ended its supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre plans to table a motion stating the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.

The New Democrats and Bloc Québécois have said they intend to vote against the Conservatives. Their votes will give Trudeau space to focus on the international gathering instead of a possible snap election at home

The Summit of the Future, announced by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2021, is happening on Sunday and Monday ahead of the start of the annual meetings at the General Assembly.

Its goal is to reform the UN, reinvigorate multilateralism, and agree on solutions to new challenges at a time when the global institution has faced criticism for its handling of 21st century issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza.

Guterres urged member nations last week to compromise and approve the "Pact of the Future," a blueprint to address a wide range of global challenges. But there's been pushback from Russia, Saudi Arabia and other countries who object to some of the language around things like climate change and reforming international financial institutions.

Trudeau is scheduled to meet with Guterres Sunday. Trudeau is also to speak with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Kathy Hochul, New York State's Democratic governor, earlier in the day.

"While diplomacy is hard and diplomacy about diplomacy is even harder, we can do hard things," said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday.

"We can think beyond what has been, push ourselves to create a system that meets this moment and the opportunities of the future."

Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration supports changes to the makeup of the UN Security Council to make it more inclusive by creating two permanent seats for Africans and a new elected seat for small island developing states.

Canada has been active at the UN since it was created in 1945 and helped draft the UN Charter.

Trudeau, who is co-chair of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group, will reaffirm Canada's commitment to its 2030 Agenda, a 15-year global framework adopted in 2015 that envisions a secure world free of poverty and hunger, with equal education and universal health coverage as well as other lofty goals.

Trudeau will also co-host a discussion with Haiti's acting prime minister, Garry Conille, about "solutions that are Haitian-led," the news release said.

Canada is closely invested in Haiti's response to the ongoing humanitarian, security and political crises. A UN report released in June said surging gang activity had displaced nearly 580,000 people in the Caribbean country since March.

While at the assembly, Trudeau will also co-host an event with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about climate change, carbon pricing and industrial decarbonization.

Pressing geopolitical challenges and the conflict in the Middle East will cast a shadow over the assembly and its formidable future plans.

Canada abstained last week from a high-profile UN vote demanding that Israel end its "unlawful presence" in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.

The State of Palestine brought the non-binding motion, which passed 124-14; Canada was among 43 abstentions. The United States voted against it.

"We cannot support a resolution where one party, the State of Israel, is held solely responsible for the conflict," Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told the General Assembly last Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also set to address a special meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday about Russia's ongoing invasion, Thomas-Greenfield said.

Russia has a permanent seat on the Security Council and it has been resoundingly criticized over its aggression in Ukraine being a violation of the UN Charter.

"We intend to keep the pressure on Russia," said Thomas-Greenfield.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2024.

With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa and The Associated Press