US President Joe Biden’s speech before the General Assembly on September 19 spent surprisingly little time on Russia and the war in Ukraine and, in many ways, hit many of the right notes with its praise of “Sovereignty, territorial integrity, human rights . . . the core tenets of the U.N. Charter, the pillars of peaceful relations among nations. . ..” But America’s past performance on these very issues weaken the persuasiveness and sincerity of the appeal.
The opening remarks of Biden’s speech demonstrated America’s tone deafness to the demands of the global majority and the rising nonaligned multipolar movement. His comment that “As president of the United States, I understand the duty my country has to lead in this critical moment” represents a continued insistence on US hegemony.