Overlooked Crises Compete for Oxygen at the U.N. General Assembly

['Richard Gowan', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] World Politics Review 2025-09-22 12:40:00

As leaders gather for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly this week, they have no shortage of wars to worry about. The war in Gaza, where a U.N. commission recently found that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, will dominate proceedings. That crisis has shaken the U.N., which has been dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 1940s, to its core. Gaza and Ukraine topped the agenda when world leaders met in New York a year ago. That said, a further Russian incursion into NATO airspace—like the recent incidents over Poland and Estonia—could suddenly seize leaders’ attention.