From artificial intelligence to migration, some of the forces reshaping the twenty-first century took centre stage at the UN General Assembly on Saturday. Leaders wrestled with a common dilemma: how to harness profound technological and social change without allowing it to deepen the divisions already separating countries and communities. This edition of The Takeaway distils key points from Day 5 of the annual high-level debate.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand warned the UN General Assembly on Saturday that the international order has entered an era of profound disruption, calling for stronger multilateral cooperation and new partnerships as major powers increasingly turn away from global economic integration.

India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar warned on Saturday that violent conflicts continue to undermine international peace and security, while countries far removed from the battlefield are being forced to pay a heavy price.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister warned on Saturday that escalating threats across the Middle East risked international peace, energy security and global trade, calling for stronger international cooperation to protect Gulf States and vital shipping routes.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister warned the UN General Assembly on Saturday that escalating military and economic pressure in Latin America and the Caribbean was threatening international law, while accusing the United States of intensifying a decades-long campaign to isolate and weaken his country.

Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, accused Western countries of destabilising the world through “force and double standards” in his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday, vowing that Moscow's “special military operation” in Ukraine would be “carried through to the end.”

China's Vice President, Han Zheng, urged the world to defend the postwar international order on Saturday, telling the UN General Assembly that geopolitical conflicts, widening development gaps and mounting global challenges make multilateralism more urgent than ever.

Countries adopted on Saturday a new global blueprint for tackling rapidly evolving forms of crime, as the UN’s largest gathering on crime prevention and criminal justice opened in Abu Dhabi with a call for stronger international cooperation.

From the Caribbean to the Pacific, leaders from small island States demanded climate justice, ocean protection and greater solidarity at the UN General Assembly on Friday.  They warned that rising seas are already redrawing national boundaries, while the ripple effects of faraway wars are being felt on their shores. This edition of The Takeaway summarizes key points made during the fourth day of the annual high-level debate.

Haiti is at a “watershed moment” in its struggle against gang violence and needs sustained international support alongside stronger national security institutions, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé told the UN General Assembly on Friday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the UN General Assembly on Friday that any attempt by India to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the Indus River waters “will be treated as an act of war”. 

The UN said on Friday it remains gravely concerned by the continued deterioration of the security situation across northern Ethiopia, as fighting spreads across multiple fronts and increasingly disrupts humanitarian operations.

Climate change remains the greatest existential threat to Tuvalu, Prime Minister Feleti Teo told the UN General Assembly on Friday, warning that the pace and scale of international action are still falling far short of what vulnerable island nations need.

The situation in the occupied West Bank continues to deteriorate, the UN human rights office has said, pointing to the “mass destruction” of Palestinian villages and forcible transfer of residents in Msafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, has stressed that decisions over war and peace, and control of weapons, must rest solely with the State and its constitutional institutions.

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, said his country aims to exert its influence as an active economic power in the region, and as a bridge for dialogue and cooperation between its peoples.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah brought a stark warning from the Himalayas to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, saying catastrophic floods that killed at least 1,400 people in his country laid bare the human cost of climate change, and the failure of the international system to protect those least responsible for it.

Africa should focus its use of technology on solving its own real challenges rather than copying the systems and priorities of other parts of the world. 

The war in Sudan has devastated the economy and agricultural production, but a UN-backed plan aims to mobilise private sector investment to help farmers return to their fields.

At a time when war, climate crises and man-made disasters continue to displace millions around the world, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees briefed the Security Council on Friday.