Amid the convulsions of wars, global leaders convene at U.N.

Gathering comes as the world body is itself undergoing crisis

- BY EDITH M. LEDERER

YUKI IWAMURA Associated Press

AN ESTONIAN official displays photos of Russian fighter jets as he addresses the U.N. Security Council.

World leaders began convening Monday at one of the most volatile moments in the United Nations' 80-year history, and the challenges they face are as dire as ever if not more so: unyielding wars in Gaza and Ukraine, escalating changes in the U.S. approach to the world, hungry people everywhere and technologies that are advancing faster than the understanding of how to manage them.

The United Nations, which emerged from World War II's rubble on the premise that nations would work together to tackle political, social and financial issues, is in crisis itself. As Secretary-General António Guterres said last week: "International cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes."

Yet the annual high-level gathering at the U.N. General Assembly will bring presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from about 150 of the 193 member nations to the organization's headquarters. The secretary-general says it is an opportunity that can't be missed — even in the most challenging of moments.

"We are gathering in turbulent — even uncharted — waters," Guterres said. He pointed to, among other specters, "our planet overheating, new technologies racing ahead without guardrails, inequalities widening by the hour."

At the opening commemoration of this year's 80th anniversary of the United Nations, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said the world is at a crossroads as it was after World War II, and courage is needed "to show the world that we can be better together."

"Today," she said, "is not about celebrating."