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Donald Trump to address UN general assembly – live updates Trump addresses UN general assembly and thanks Kim Jong-un – live updates
(35 minutes later)
Trump’s tone is picking up slightly as he speaks about Iran, which he says has a “bloody agenda.”
Trump says Iran’s leaders “do not respect their neighbors or borders or the sovereign rights of nations.”
And he accuses Iran’s leaders of plundering resources for their own gain.
He condemns “the horrible 2015 nuclear deal” and calls on other countries to completely isolate Iran.
Now on to the Middle East.
Trump touts successes in stopping the “bloodthirsty killers of Isis.”
He says the US will respond if Syria uses chemical weapons.
He then thanks Jordan and other neighboring countries for housing refugees, a point to back his interest in keeping refugees out of the US.
Trump touts US engagement with North Korea, a country which he threatened to “totally destroy” in this forum last year.
He says nuclear testing has stopped, hostages have been released, and missiles are no longer flying across North Korea’s border with South Korea.
He then thanks North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, “for his courage and the steps he has taken.”
He then offers gratitude to the presidents of South Korea, Japan and China.
US president Donald Trump has arrived.
“Today I stand before the United Nations general assembly to share the extraordinary progress we made,” he says.
He says his administration has accomplished in less than two years more than any other administration.
There’s a slight rumbling in the hall, then he pauses to say “it’s true,” resulting in the first big laugh of the day from the foreign dignitaries.
Trump is measured, and says the US will always choose independence over global governance.
“The United States will not tell you how to live, work and worship,” Trump says. “We only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return.”
Donald Trump has been busy at the UN general assembly ahead of his remarks today.
Yesterday, the US president announced he would hold a second summit with the “very open and terrific” North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
Those compliments are a remarkable turnaround from Trump’s first appearance at the UN general assembly last year, when he hurled insults at Kim and threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea.
Here’s a look at what led to the change of course and the reaction to the planned second summit:
Back to Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno Garcés, who has called on the US to end its blockade on Cuba.
He is also speaking extensively about migration, saying that people flee because they have no choice.
His country has seen more than 547,000 Venezuelans enter since January to escape rampant crime and political violence, a collapsing economy and severe shortages of food and medicines.
“We know that world peace is a duty that remains pending,” Moreno Garcés said.
“There won’t be any peace unless we preserve our planet,” he says.
“There won’t be peace unless we celebrate inclusion.”
Donald Trump is in the building. Senior White House advisor, Stephen Miller, is by his side.
Trump says “Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani,” at #unga. “Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man!” Maybe we’ll have a chance to ask @realDonaldTrump today whether he was joking about the last bit.
"Iran has to change its tune before I meet with them," President Trump said upon entering the United Nations ahead of UNGA speech
Moreno Garcés explains his countries operating plan called “whole life.”
This starts by taking care of mothers and children, improving education and job prospects and supporting adults, he says.
He speaks about his childhood in the Amazon and how he and his peers would envision ways they could climb out of poverty.
And then about being shot twenty years ago, and how even that painful incident was not entirely good and not entirely bad.
“From this wheelchair, I see through the eyes of the heart,” he says.
Moreno Garcés says seeing “horizontally” gives him a closer eye to people who are discriminated against.
He calls for improved accessibility for people with disabilities, one of the seven priorities for this general assembly and improving treatment of other groups that are discriminated against.
Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno Garcés, is at the podium.Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno Garcés, is at the podium.
This slot was meant for Donald Trump, but he appears to be running late. So, Garcés has been bumped up in the schedule.This slot was meant for Donald Trump, but he appears to be running late. So, Garcés has been bumped up in the schedule.
Fun fact:Fun fact:
Trump not the first president to miss his speaking slot at the UN. Obama was late during his last speech in 2016 so they moved on to the president of ChadTrump not the first president to miss his speaking slot at the UN. Obama was late during his last speech in 2016 so they moved on to the president of Chad
Temer warns about issues with human trafficking, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime.Temer warns about issues with human trafficking, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime.
“That can only be effectively tackled through concerted policies and actions,” Temer says.“That can only be effectively tackled through concerted policies and actions,” Temer says.
Temer acknowledges this is the last time he will be speaking in the general assembly because the country’s presidential election is in two weeks.Temer acknowledges this is the last time he will be speaking in the general assembly because the country’s presidential election is in two weeks.
“An alternation in power is the very essence of democracy,” Temer says.“An alternation in power is the very essence of democracy,” Temer says.
“I will hand over the presidency to my successor with the peace of mind of having fulfilled my duty,” he says.“I will hand over the presidency to my successor with the peace of mind of having fulfilled my duty,” he says.
He says Brazil is a “much better” country than it was before he took office.He says Brazil is a “much better” country than it was before he took office.
And ends by saying Brazil will always be a country that supports more dialogue, more international solidarity and multilateralism.And ends by saying Brazil will always be a country that supports more dialogue, more international solidarity and multilateralism.
Temer is speaking about the global migration crisis.Temer is speaking about the global migration crisis.
“It is our duty to protect them and this is the purpose of the global compact on migration,” he says.“It is our duty to protect them and this is the purpose of the global compact on migration,” he says.
He highlights mass migration in South America, where people are fleeing Venezuela at such a high rate the UN has warned it could be comparable to the Mediterranean refugee crisis.He highlights mass migration in South America, where people are fleeing Venezuela at such a high rate the UN has warned it could be comparable to the Mediterranean refugee crisis.
The Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, writes from the United Nations on Donald Trump’s latest tweet.The Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, writes from the United Nations on Donald Trump’s latest tweet.
In the early morning message, Trump made a personal rapprochement to Hassan Rouhani, saying he was sure that the Iranian president was an “absolutely lovely man”.In the early morning message, Trump made a personal rapprochement to Hassan Rouhani, saying he was sure that the Iranian president was an “absolutely lovely man”.
A few minutes before 7am on the first day of a UN general assembly summit, Trump claimed to have been asked to meet Rouhani, but politely declined.A few minutes before 7am on the first day of a UN general assembly summit, Trump claimed to have been asked to meet Rouhani, but politely declined.
“Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man!” Trump wrote, in stark contrast to unceasingly hostile rhetoric directed towards the Iranian leadership up to now by the president and his administration.“Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man!” Trump wrote, in stark contrast to unceasingly hostile rhetoric directed towards the Iranian leadership up to now by the president and his administration.
The Iranian mission to the UN quickly issued a statement insisting “Iran has not requested a meeting”.The Iranian mission to the UN quickly issued a statement insisting “Iran has not requested a meeting”.
Brazil’s embattled president, Michael Temer, begins by asking how many people have been in this forum and called for an improved global order.
He continues to say it is an important question to ask as: “the challenge is to the integrity of the current international order are many.”
Temer says isolationsim is on the rise and “old forms of intolerance are being rekindled.”
Meanwhile, he says, Brazil is not being isolationist, touting all the countries its government has been working with.
Some early reaction to Guterres’s speech:
I’m gonna guess Guterres’ speech - like that of any good UNSYG - would be a giant troll of Trump, intended or not https://t.co/yTH6QYeHEU
UN Sec Gen's speech, like the speech he delivered last year, offered a devastating broadside against the Trump vision of world affairs -- and without effort mentioning Trump by name
While Trump prepares for his UN speech focusing on US sovereignty, the SG warns of a "trust deficit disorder." Guterres says there's a lack of trust in the rules based global order. "Multilateralismis under fire precisely when we need it most.
And a deep cut for the international relations nerds:
IR Nerds: The UN Secretary General just cited both Thucydides and Harvard's Graham Alison.
The president of the general assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, is on stage to welcome the crowd.
She says this is the only assembly that allows world leaders “to hear and be heard on equal footing.”
“We live in an interconnected world leaving us no choice to pursue a global dialogue,” she says.
She says the first priority of this general assembly is gender equality.
The second: new global agreement on migrants and refugees.
Third: improving employment.
Fourth: climate change and improving environmental protections.
Fifth: political and social commitment to helping people with disabilities.
Sixth: the revitalization of the United Nations.
Seventh: peace and security and the role of young people in conflict prevention. “Sustained peace must be rooted in dialogue and understanding,” she says.
Conflict is resolved through conversation and understanding, she says.
The speech is veering back to optimism after a bleak rundown of the world’s major conflicts and instability of democratic institutions.
Guterres is speaking about cooperation between countries that have historically been at odds, including improved relations on the Korean peninsula.
Again, he speaks extensively about the importance of improving gender equality.
Guterres quotes former UN secretary general Kofi Annan: “We share a common destiny, we can master it only if we face it together, and that my friends is why we have the United Nations.”
Now for technology.
Guterres says that rapid technological advances have benefits but also have introduced challenges.
“The very nature of work will change,” he warns, claiming that the impact of technology on the labor market will require countries to increase public benefits and underlines the need for a universal basic income.
He says further challenges include how technology is being used by terrorists and for sexual exploitation.
He says technology is exploiting the gender gap and reinforces male power structures.
He says the impact of new technologies on warfare are a direct threat on the common goal to guarantee peace.
“The prospect of machines with the discretion and power to take human life is morally repugnant,” he says.
Guterres highlights the plight of refugees, warning that countries “who close their borders to migrants only fuel the work to traffickers.”
He is speaking extensively about climate change and the immense threat it poses to the world. “Climate change is moving faster than we are.”
“We must listen to the world’s best scientists,” he says.
Guterres proposes investing in green businesses.
He announces a climate change meeting for next September that will look at the environment and finance. It is timed for a year ahead of the deadline for countries to revise their pledges in the Paris climate agreement.
“The world needs you to be climate champions, all of you.”
Guterres says “with leadership committed to strategic cooperation” the world can avoid war.
He calls the gathered heads of state “guardians of the common good.”
Guterres commits to making the UN more effective and argues that improving global relations will improve the trust deficit he mentioned earlier.
He references major global conflicts, including the war in Syria, conflict in Yemen, the Rohingya crisis and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
UN secretary general, António Guterres, has taken the stage after a video tribute to Kofi Annan, the former secretary general who died in August and a short film about the UN sustainable development goals.
Guterres begins: “Our world is suffering from a bad case of trust deficit disorder.”
He says people are losing trust in institutions and global relations are more divisive.
“Trust in global governance is also fragile,” he says.
“We face a set of paradoxes: the world is more connected, yet societies are becoming more fragmented.”
Yesterday, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, warned that Syria faces perpetual war unless Russia agrees to turn the one-month ceasefire in Idlib into a wider UN-endorsed political agreement.
The US national security adviser, John Bolton, also raised the prospect of an endless conflict at the UN general assembly:
Hello and welcome
Welcome to our live coverage of the United Nations general assembly’s general debate, where world leaders will present their priorities to the international stage.
The session will open at about 9am local time in New York (2pm in London) with remarks by secretary-general António Guterres. He will be followed the president of the general assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés.
Then, as is customary, Brazil will be the first country to speak, followed immediately by US president Donald Trump, who in last year’s remarks threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.”
We’ll have live updates of today’s speeches here, with analysis from the Guardian’s team of experts, including world affairs editor, Julian Borger, who is reporting from the UN’s New York headquarters. As we wait for Guterres to take the stage, you can read Julian’s preview of the summit.