By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – On Tuesday morning September 24, U.S. President Joe Biden gave his fourth and final address to the United Nations General Assembly, (UNGA) stating that “Being president has been the honor of my life.” Biden underscored that “It’s time to move forward,” and emphasized that “The U.N Security Council needs to go back to the job of brokering peace and stop the spread of the most dangerous weapons.” The outgoing U.S. president recapped the highlights of his presidency and pointed out that each member state “made a commitment to the U.N. Charter to stand up to aggression.” Biden further stated: “Our NATO allies and partners, 50 plus nations, stood up as well, as he spoke about Ukraine’s brave fight against Russian aggression. The president stressed: “The good news is Putin’s war has failed as his core aim to destroy Ukraine,” adding “NATO is more united than before, we cannot let up.” Biden added: “We cannot grow weary, we cannot look away,” not until Ukraine “wins an endurable peace at the U.N. Charter.”
Biden also noted the progress made during his presidency, citing having achieved, “the first ever General Assembly resolution on AI to have global rules of AI.” The president added that such a law is necessary since “Nothing is certain” about “how AI will evolve or how it will be deployed.” In terms of how AI will be used in the future, Biden remarked, “Artificial intelligence is going to change our ways of life, our ways of work and our ways of war,” cautioning “but AI also brings profound risks.” He also said his administration has been instrumental in mobilizing financing in the developing world to “build out their infrastructure while citing “digital transformation, adding that the “Partnership of global infrastructure and investment” must be constant. The president also noted that his administration had “the most ambitious climate action in history,” adding the U.S. is on track to “cut emissions in half” by 20230. Also, he noted that during his presidency, the U.S. “rejoined The World Health Organization (WHO), donated $270 million COVID vaccines and committed $500 million to eradicating Mpox. We will call on our partners to match our pledge on this to the people of Africa.” Another priority of Biden’s presidency he said was strengthening EU and other alliances, adding, “We will continue to strengthen alliances and relations” emphasizing that doing so is “not a threat to anyone.” The president also noted the work his administration has been doing to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, explaining: “I put forward with Qatar and Egypt, a hostage deal that the U.N. Security Council approved – the parties must sign this and end this war.” He further stated, “A full scale war is not in anyone’s interests,” referring to Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding, “That’s what we are working to tirelessly achieve,” a way to end the war, he reiterated. Regarding the plight of the Palestinian people, Biden said, “They did not ask for this war that Hamas started.”
President Biden concluded: “I entered public life not out of despair but out of optimism,” adding “My fellow leaders let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power, it’s your people.” Expressing his sentiment that “It’s time to move forward,” he said that “it’s time for a new generation of service” to run the presidency while highlighting the purpose of the U.N. which others have echoed: “The U.N. Security Council needs to go back to the job of brokering peace and stop the spread of the most dangerous weapons.” Biden also said that there must be a “stronger, more effective, more inclusive United Nations, that’s why we support reforming and expanding the membership of the U.N. Security Council.” He reminded U.N. Member States, “To start, each of us made a commitment to the U.N. Charter – stand up to aggression. Our NATO allies and partners, 50-plus nations stood up as well on Ukraine. The good news is Putin’s war has failed as his core aim to destroy Ukraine.” He added “NATO is more united than before. We cannot let up. We will sustain our support to help Ukraine win its freedom,” adding “not until Ukraine wins an endurable peace at the U.N. Charter.” President Biden reiterated “The world needs to stop bombing, in general,” adding “People need more than the absence of war, they need a chance to live in dignity.” To that end, he reminded Member States, “We cannot grow weary, we cannot look away.”
