ReportUN Opens as Ireland Presses EU for United Action on IsraelAired September 23, 2026 at 9:20 AM UTCWritten September 23, 2026 at 9:22 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:11Israel can't keep denying what the world knows.0:14Nearly 130 heads of state and government are taking the podium in New York while0:18wars in Gaza and Ukraine grind on in aid, civilian protection, and the two-state0:22future hang in the balance.0:23Will Ireland's call turn recognition and national bans into binding Europe-wide0:27pressure, or stall with credibility still questioned?0:30Nearly 130 heads of state and government were expected to take the podium, with0:35Brazil speaking first by tradition, a measure of how crowded and consequential this0:39high-level week is.0:40The 81st session opened on 8 September.0:43High-level week is listed as 18 to 28 September, with the general debate running 220:48to 26 September and resuming 28th September.0:51The end date appears elsewhere as 29th September, with no explanation for the0:56difference.0:56The session theme is restoring trust, managing transformation, a United Nations that1:01delivers for all.1:02The president of the 81st session is Khalilar Rahman of Bangladesh.1:11That line captures the test framing this opening, whether collective institutions1:16can still restrain wars and rebuild trust.1:18Across the Middle East, conflicts are cascading, with so-called ceasefires amounting1:23to little more than lesser fires, alongside fighting in Gaza, expansion of Israeli1:27settlements in the West Bank, constrained aid access for Palestinians, and wider1:31regional escalation.1:32The full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine continues, raising support,1:36territorial integrity, and winter energy and security.1:40Around those wars sit pressures on the United Nations itself, eroded trust, Security1:45Council paralysis, financial and funding pressure, the relevance of multilateralism,1:50and the search for a successor to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.1:54The climate crisis has moved from distant warning to daily reality, and artificial1:58intelligence has moved at a speed that has blindsided even those who created it,2:02described as chapters of the same story, the story of power, with an appeal that2:07building a networked future begins with recognition.2:10especially by superpowers, that their power isn't so super and has limits.2:14Tejiak Mikal Martin is in New York with an Irish delegation to deliver Ireland's2:19national statement on Thursday, 24th September, Thursday evening into early Friday2:24Irish time.2:25No text, transcript, or delivered content of a 2026 general debate speech is yet2:30public, with material to 22nd September describing plans and remarks around the2:34visit rather than a delivered address.2:37Stated Irish priorities are the importance of peace in Palestine and Ukraine, a call2:41for peace in the Middle East and a ceasefire in Ukraine, a push for Palestine aid in2:45talks with global leaders including expected meetings with Canadian Prime Minister2:49Mark Carney and New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani, and a focus on multilateralism aid in2:53Ukraine alongside Middle East diplomacy.2:56The Middle East program includes the Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution and3:00a France-Canada-United Kingdom event marking a year since the New York Declaration3:04and a Gaza peace plan.3:06Listed high-level week events also include the SDG moment on 18th of September, and3:11high-level meetings on the right to development and on climate action and just3:14transition on 23rd September.3:16Ireland, with others, has recognized the state of Palestine and taken national3:20steps, including an Irish import ban on settlement goods from occupied territory and3:25individual sanctions including a ban on travel to Ireland for Israeli ministers,3:29Idomar Benjivir and Bezalel Smotrich.3:32In June 2026, Martin said the European Union needs to do more in terms of Israel.3:37The argument into high-level week is that national steps are not enough to change3:41decisions by the Israeli government and only common action carries weight.3:45What is urged is EU-wide sanctions and restrictions on Israeli goods and services,3:50especially settlement-related trade, applied at EU level for more impact than3:54separate national laws.3:55Foreign Minister Helen McIntye has said EU credibility is gone over the response to3:59Israel without a common response.4:01Martin backed Guterres's Gaza view and said expansion of West Bank settlements4:05raises the specter of ethnic cleansing with the excerpt truncated in reporting.4:09For people the stakes are aid reaching Palestinians, protection of civilians under4:13bombardment and displacement, an end to settlement expansion that forecloses a4:17two-state outcome, and in Ukraine relief from continued full-scale war.4:21What remains unresolved is what Martin will actually say from the podium on 24th4:26September and whether any specific collective EU instrument follows, with no final4:30EU sanctions list, no timetable for an EU-level settlement goods restriction, and no4:35agreed enforcement or verification mechanism yet on the table.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗