U.N. General Assembly Faces Climate Change, Covid-19 and New Tensions

WASHINGTON—World leaders gathering this week for an annual United Nations meeting will confront persisting global problems such as Covid-19 and climate change, while grappling with new tensions and conflicts dividing U.N.

President Biden is scheduled to address the General Assembly for the first time as president on Tuesday, planning to appear in person after last year’s virtual gathering.

“‘Authoritarians have used the pandemic as a pretext to violate human rights and tighten their grips.

Democracy, human rights and the international rules-based order are under attack.’”.

That schedule affords an opportunity for the two leaders to address the dispute, although Mr.

Biden wasn’t expected to hold any formal meetings and will return to Washington after his speech, aides said.

Biden, who has promised attention to international alliances, has rejoined the U.N.-organized Paris climate accord, reversed a move to exit from the World Health Organization, or WHO, and is campaigning for a U.S.

Human Rights Council after the U.S.

Biden is expected to address the pandemic and climate change while pressing other governments—including the new Taliban regime and China—on rights issues.

Thomas-Greenfield told reporters Friday in New York, adding, “Democracy, human rights and the international rules-based order are under attack.”.

Biden will host a virtual summit Friday of the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S.—an informal alliance known as the Quad—as he prepares for his own global summit of democracies later this year.

Diplomats are discussing the possibility of a meeting between Iran’s foreign minister and the remaining members of the 2015 nuclear deal—France, Germany, the U.K., Russia and China.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday that Tehran remained opened to a meeting in New York and that its foreign minister would in any case hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from the nuclear-deal talks.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday that Tehran remained opened to a meeting in New York and that its foreign minister would in any case hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from the nuclear deal talks.

Most countries are eager for progress on climate change, while differing on who should bear the burden of expensive changes.

Biden said Friday that the U.S.

Biden virtually for the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, an event that Mr.

Biden revived before U.N.-organized climate negotiations scheduled for November in Glasgow.

Biden’s international climate envoy, John Kerry, has pressed China on carbon dioxide emissions, but Beijing has said the overall state of relations with the U.S.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson are set to lead a climate meeting of world leaders in New York before the Glasgow gathering.