Published on: 2026-09-21
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Richard Gowan, director for UN and multilateral diplomacy at the International Crisis Group in New York, has studied the Organization’s activities—its achievements and failures—for many years.
On the eve of the High-level Week of the General Assembly, Richard Gowan spoke with the UN News Service about why the Assembly remains the most important platform for international diplomacy and why, despite deep disagreements and changes in the world, its role still matters.
UN News Service: Let’s go back to 1945, when the United Nations was established after World War II. What did the UN founders envision for the General Assembly?
Richard Gowen: I believe that in 1945 the founders of the UN assumed that most decisions would be made in the Security Council. However, shortly after the Organization began its work, deep disagreements arose among the great powers in the Security Council, and many political discussions shifted to the General Assembly.
If we look back to the 1940s and early 1950s, we see that it was the General Assembly that played a leading role in making many decisions on the Palestinian and Korean issues, rather than the Security Council, whose activities were very often paralyzed due to the tensions of the Cold War era.
UN Photo/M. Bolomi The first session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on January 10, 1946, in London, United Kingdom. Archive photo.
UN News Service: As tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union increased, the General Assembly operated in an increasingly divided world…
Richard Gowan: In the 1940s and 1950s, most countries in the General Assembly were friends and allies of the United States. Therefore, when the work of the Security Council reached a deadlock due to the confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union, the United States often turned to the General Assembly for support.
When it became impossible to discuss the Korean War in the Security Council, it was the General Assembly that took the lead in the discussion about what should be done regarding the situation in Korea.
The most serious test for the General Assembly came in 1956, when two crises erupted simultaneously: the Suez Crisis, involving the United Kingdom and France, and the crisis related to the Soviet invasion of Hungary. It was an incredibly dramatic period. It was the Assembly that authorized the first UN peacekeeping operation, aimed at helping to end the Suez Crisis. This became one of its greatest contributions to resolving crises throughout the entire Cold War period.
UN Photo/VA An Austrian Army captain at an observation post near the Suez Canal. Photo taken in 1979.
UN News Service: How did the admission of new independent states to the UN in the 1960s affect the General Assembly, its priorities, and discussions?
Richard Gowan: The growth of the General Assembly in the 1960s happened quite differently from what the founders of the UN had anticipated. I think they believed it would have no more than 80 or 90 member countries.
The General Assembly became a place where newly independent states could make themselves heard. In the 1960s, the Assembly began to pay special attention to an issue of great importance to many former colonies – apartheid in South Africa.
Throughout the 1960s, the General Assembly adopted a series of resolutions condemning apartheid. Ultimately, in the 1970s, the General Assembly effectively suspended South Africa’s participation, where the apartheid regime was in place. This indicated that the countries we now call the Global South were becoming an influential force in the General Assembly.
UN Photo/M. Grant Jesse Jackson (left) talks with Joseph N. Garba, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN and Chairman of the Special Committee Against Apartheid.
UN News Service: Developing countries have become increasingly organized and influential in the General Assembly. How have they changed the range of issues addressed by the UN?
Richard Gowen: Developing countries wanted to use the General Assembly as a platform to discuss apartheid in South Africa and other crises of the late colonial period, including the remaining Portuguese Empire in Africa. They also wanted to talk about Palestine, which began to receive more attention in the 1970s.
Developing countries sought to discuss what they considered the extremely unjust global economic order. In 1974, the General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the creation of a new economic order that would be more equitable towards developing countries. This was followed by a very complex diplomatic process during the 1970s and 1980s focused on the injustice of the global economic system.
UN News Service: Do you think they have succeeded in changing world politics beyond the UN?
Richard Gowan: During the Cold War, the General Assembly was the main platform where countries liberated from colonialism could make their mark on the world stage. I truly believe that the campaign against apartheid in the General Assembly had a huge impact and contributed to the eventual collapse of that system in the early 1990s.
I think that without the Assembly, the vast majority of UN member states would not have the opportunity to express themselves on many global issues. We failed to create a new international economic order that would be more just towards the Global South, but without the Assembly, many countries would have no voice at all on the world stage.
UN Photo/Yu. Nagata Members of the Special Committee on Decolonization discuss events in African territories under Portuguese administration. Photo from 1973.
UN News Service: The end of the Cold War gave rise to new hopes for international cooperation. How did the Assembly respond to the advent of a new era and what opportunities opened up for the United Nations?
Richard Cowan: In the first decades after the end of the Cold War, diplomats had the opportunity to at least partially put aside ideological differences and engage in a much more constructive dialogue about how to strengthen the UN system.
During the Cold War, diplomats from the communist bloc hardly ever spoke to their counterparts from Western countries unless it was absolutely necessary.
A new spirit of communication and cooperation has emerged. Ambassadors worked together with the UN Secretariat on new ideas, which were then approved by the General Assembly. In particular, this concerned the creation of new UN bodies, such as the Peacebuilding Commission established in 2005.
UN News Service: As globalization accelerates in the new millennium, the United Nations has faced new economic, environmental, and political challenges. In your view, which discussions or decisions of the 2000s have had the greatest impact on the role of the General Assembly?
Richard Gowen: I think the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 was a shock to the Assembly. Many UN member states believed that the Organization should take action in response to the financial crisis.
The USA and other major economies decided to act through the “Group of Twenty.” At that time, this provoked serious criticism from Global South countries. But it is also important to remember that it was then that environmental issues and the need for efforts to protect the planet began to be discussed much more actively in the General Assembly, along with other UN forums.
UN News Service: If you could speak with the founders of the UN in 1945, what would surprise them most about the modern General Assembly and what advice might they give for the future?
Richard Gowan: It should be remembered that the key figures who founded the UN believed that this system would uphold the old imperial order. Instead, the UN, and above all the General Assembly, created conditions for countries to free themselves from colonialism, enter the world stage, begin expressing their views on global politics, and challenge the existing centers of power.
The Assembly played a central role in the history of decolonization. I think if you told this to someone like Winston Churchill, who took part in the creation of the UN, he would be extremely surprised.
UN Photo/M. Elias A modern view of the United Nations Headquarters building.
UN News Service: As a UN expert, what do you think about the importance of keeping the Organization’s headquarters in New York?
Richard Gowan: Today, there are many diplomatic groups – the “Group of Seven,” BRICS, and a number of other forums. But it is important to remember that for many small countries and regional powers, the General Assembly still remains the main stage. It is their primary platform for discussing global issues.
And although it is often said that the UN is in decline, every September the General Assembly sees a record number of leaders attending. This platform still matters. It should not be forgotten that it is the General Assembly that becomes the place the world turns to when it is necessary to respond to an urgent crisis.
There is no alternative to it. The General Assembly could be moved to another city, but I think that for many world leaders it is especially important that this body is located right here – at the center of attention of global mass media and world diplomacy, where they can make sure their voice is heard.
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