UN General Assembly meets for third day as leaders raise alarms on human rights, pressing matters

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The third day of the United Nations General Assembly meeting kicked off in New York City on Thursday, with leaders from countries all over the world speaking about pressing issues, such as climate change and global conflict. 

Around 80 world leaders spoke during the first two days of speeches. Thursday's speakers include leaders from China, Palestine, Greece, Congo, Denmark and Dominica. Many issues that have been addressed include climate change, Russia's war in Ukraine and economic cooperation. 

Here are some highlights of the leaders who spoke on Day 3:

Serbia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said his country could "not turn its back" on traditional friends like Russia despite plans by his government to further strengthen ties with Western nations and seek European Union membership.

"I stand before you as the representative of a free and independent country, the Republic of Serbia, which is on its new accession path, but which at the same time is not ready to turn its back on traditional friendships it has been building for centuries," Vucic said.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Serbia has refused to join several other nations that have imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. 

Vucic made his remarks days after talks brokered by the European Union between Serbia and Kosovo failed to make any progress. Both nations have stated their interest in joining the EU. 

Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refused to recognize it. Kosovo is not a U.N. member-state.

Palestinians

Mahmoud Abbas, president of Palestinian territories and the Palestinian National Authority, called for the international recognition of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

He also called for Palestine to be admitted into the United Nations, like Israel. 

"There are two states that the entire world is talking about: Israel and Palestine," Abbas said. "But only Israel is recognized. Why not Palestine?"

"What is the danger posed by the state of Palestine obtaining full membership of the United Nations?" he added. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Abbas said the effects of the Nakba, known as the "catastrophe" in Arabic that refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, are still felt today. 

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state. Some have accused Israel of enforcing an "apartheid" policy of Palestinian territories through a blockade of the Gaza Strip and security checkpoints. 

Abbas said the Israeli occupation of lands Palestinians want for their future state "challenges more than a thousand resolutions, violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy, while racing to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground."

The Israeli delegation walked out of the hall early in his address, when he spoke about Israel’s practice of holding the remains of alleged Palestinian attackers.

Danny Danon, Israel's permanent representative to the U.N., said Abbas claims to want peace but supports and pays "for the terror of innocent Israeli citizens."

"While he claims to stand for justice he appropriates Israel’s history, its legacy in the land, and even its capital Jerusalem. While he claims his side is the side of truth he reverts to lies and warmongering rhetoric," he said in a statement in response to Abbas' speech. "And while the region is engaged in moving towards true peace and collaboration, he continues his annual deceitful tirade against Israel. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

"The Palestinians deserve better and deserve more. False and fabricated speeches at the UN no longer make the cut. Nor should they," Danon added. "It’s time he takes responsibility and provides his people with a brighter future instead of perpetuating his disinformation campaign and endless empty slogans."

On Wednesday, Palestinian officials said Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank and unrest in the Gaza Strip killed six Palestinians. The deadly violence between Israel and the Palestinians over the last year and a half has surged to levels unseen in the West Bank in some two decades. Israel has stepped up its raids on Palestinian areas and Palestinian attacks on Israelis have been mounting.

"The Israeli racist, right-wing government continues its attacks on our people through its army and its racist, terrorist settlers to continue to intimidate and kill out people to destroy homes and property," Abbas said. 

Abbas is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom view his Palestinian Authority as a corrupt pillar of the status quo.

China

Chinese Vice President Chinese Vice President Han Zheng raised alarms about upholding equity and justice and international peace, despite its aggression toward Taiwan and its own human rights record. 

"Diversity of civilizations is an invaluable asset for human development," he said. "Indeed, diversity is a defining feature of human civilization. Different countries and civilizations should prosper together by respecting each other, advance together by drawing on each other's strengths, and seek win-win outcomes by pursuing common ground."

On Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, Zheng said "there is but one China in the world."

"The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. And Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China's territory since ancient times."

China's Vice President Han Zheng addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 21, 2023.  (ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijing recently sent over 150 warplanes toward Taiwan in an unprecedented military action that the island’s government swiftly condemned as "harassment."

Despite its stance on Taiwan, Zheng said China is "firm in upholding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and that it "supports and respects their efforts to independently decide on the development paths in keeping with their national conditions."

Zheng also said nations should advance human rights through cooperation and oppose double standards, in particular, the use of human rights and democracy as a political tool to interfere in the affairs of other countries. 

The remarks stand in contrast to Beijing's detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang. A U.N. report released last year said the Chinese government has committed "serious human rights violations" in its treatment of the Muslim groups. 

Greece

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the assembly of world leaders Thursday that climate change remains one of the most important challenges, citing devastating wildfires, floods and rising temperatures across Greece. 

"The science is clear," he said. "Unprecedented temperatures fueled by global warming are creating the conditions that drive these catastrophic events."

"This is no longer a crisis of the poorest, or global south," he added. 

Mitsotakis also spoke about his country's mass migration crisis. Over the past decade, Greece has received thousands of migrants risking their lives on the Mediterranean Sea to reach its shores, he said. 

Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on Thursday. 

He said the root causes of migration need to be addressed in the countries of origin, along with investments in several areas to prevent the flow of mass migration and breaking the business model of human trafficking and criminal groups. 

Many migrants that reach Greece come from Africa. 

"When it comes to migration policy, Greece's policy is tough but fair," he said. 

He noted that Greece is focused on enhancing legal migration. 

"We must address the negative, political, socioeconomic and climate trends at source," he said. "In the countries of origin but also in the countries of transit."

On Wednesday, Italian President Giorgia Meloni also spoke about the mass migration to her country and the criminal gangs that transport them in often dangerous conditions. 

Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly. (AP)

"In this chaos that produces tens of millions of people potentially in search of better living conditions are infiltrated criminal networks that profit from desperation to collect easy billions," she said. "They are the traffickers of human beings."

France

French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said Europe overcame centuries of conflict through cooperation and trust. 

"Nothing can morally or legally ever justify the invasion of a neighboring state to attempt to annex territory through underhanded maneuvers and marginalize the population," Colonna said of Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. 

"If we allow our common principles to be trampled there, they'll be trampled everywhere," she added. 

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 21, 2023. (ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

She added that France supports the fight against radical Islamists. She called out the Taliban for the repression of women in Afghanistan.

She said the Taliban has placed "violence against women at the heart of its political identity."

French President Emmanuel Macron skipped this year's top-level meeting event amid a reported busy diplomatic schedule. 
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.