The general debate of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on 23 September 2025 and ran until 29 September.[1] Leaders from a number of member states addressed the UNGA.
The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observer entities will have a chance to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers will be put on the list in the order of their request, with special consideration for ministers and other government officials of similar or higher rank. According to the rules in place for the general debate, the statements should be in one of the United Nations official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish) and will be interpreted by interpreters.[2] Each speaker is requested to provide advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate interpretation. The theme for the 2025 general debate was chosen by the President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, as: "Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights".[1] On 24 September, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first Syrian leader to address the UNGA since Nureddin al-Atassi in 1967.[3][nb 1]
Controversial speeches
Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro made a speech advocating climate action, criticizing the Trump administration, and calling for military intervention in the Gaza genocide. He advocated forming "an armed force to defend the lives of the Palestinian people" and accused the United States and NATO of "killing democracy and reviving tyranny and totalitarianism on a global scale."[6][7]
Following his speech, Petro participated in a protest where he spoke on militarism in the United States, saying, "I ask all soldiers in the US not to point their rifles at humanity. Disobey Trump's order! Obey the order of humanity!" The United States revoked his visa shortly after.[8]
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech that received significant media attention and was met with significant backlash.
On 26 September, the day of the speech, protesters assembled in various locations throughout New York City, including the UN headquarters, Times Square, and outside the News Corp. Building, to protest the Gaza war and Netanyahu's address. Large crowds marching to the UN chanted "Free, free Palestine," and some signs read "END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL!", "STOP STARVING GAZA", and "STOP THE GENOCIDE, FREE PALESTINE". Many of the protesters were Jewish Americans. Pro-Israel counter-protesters, including Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, confronted the protesters.[9][10]
When it was time for Netanyahu's address, the majority of UNGA delegates collectively walked out in protest of Israel's actions during the Gaza war—"a sign of Israel's growing international isolation." The General Assembly chamber was "relatively empty" during his speech.[11][12]
Netanyahu's speech primarily focused on promoting Israeli nationalism, discrediting allegations of human rights abuses, alleging widespread global antisemitism, and characterizing Israel as a victim of attacks by various forces in the Middle East.[13] He made a joke in his speech about the UN being "not exactly a supporter of Israel" which was met with silence, after which he said, "you're supposed to laugh, by the way."[13] Netanyahu said those who accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza are antisemitic[13] and claimed a genocide is not happening in Gaza, even though there is consensus among experts Israel is committing genocide.[14]
Netanyahu claimed Israeli intelligence had "hacked the smartphones of people in Gaza and would stream his speech to them directly." According to BBC sources in Gaza, phones were not actually affected.[9] Netanyahu "surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers" to broadcast his speech according to CNN, telling Hamas to release the "remaining hostages or face death," even though the families of the hostages publicly opposed doing so.[15]
US President Donald Trump urged for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). However, he expressed his belief that the acknowledgment of a Palestinian state by various Western nations was a reward for Hamas. He advocated that the release of Israeli captives was important in order to end the conflict.[16]
Following Trump's address, the leaders of two prominent Muslim nations, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke at the General Assembly. Subianto remarked, "No nation can subjugate the entire human race," adding, "While we may appear weak as individuals, our collective sense of injustice will empower us as a formidable force to confront it." Erdogan stated that there were individuals complicit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who remained silent in the face of his acts of brutality.[17]
Speaking schedule
Since 1955, Brazil and the United States have been the first and second countries to speak. Other countries follow according to a speaking schedule issued by the Secretariat.[2]
The list of speakers is published and updated daily in the Journal of the United Nations,[18] and on the general debate website.[1]
↑ Sources that explicitly mention or directly imply an expert consensus recognizing genocide in Gaza:
Journal of Genocide Research: Sultany 2024, pp.1–26 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSultany2024 (help): "Despite Israel’s indignation over the charge, and its invocation of the Holocaust to neutralize the accusation against it, there is an increasing legal consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Different actors have acknowledged that Israel’s actions violate elements of the Genocide Convention and stressed the need to prevent genocide. Continued contestation notwithstanding, this consensus is emerging because the evidence is overwhelming. This emerging consensus strengthens the legal case against Israel."
Journal of Genocide Research: Shaw 2025b, pp.1–15 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFShaw2025b (help): "Indeed, the evidence of genocide accumulated so quickly in late 2023 that South Africa was soon preparing a historic case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, which it submitted on 28 December. The genocidal logic was so inescapable that weeks later, the Court delivered the first of three provisional measures rulings containing instructions to Israel, which recognized a "plausible risk" of prejudice to the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention. By the end of 2024, when Amnesty International published a comprehensively evidenced and legally argued case, the consensus that Israel was committing genocide was becoming overwhelming."
The Guardian (News): "Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world's top scholars on the crime say". The Guardian. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. The world's leading genocide scholars' association has backed a resolution stating that Israel's actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of the crime.
The Washington Post (Analysis/Column): Tharoor 2025 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTharoor2025 (help): "In May, the Dutch newspaper NRC surveyed seven prominent genocide scholars who unanimously concurred that genocide in Gaza was taking place."
Reuters (News): van den Berg 2025 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFvan_den_Berg2025 (help): "Eighty-six percent of those who voted among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars backed the resolution declaring Israel's 'policies and actions in Gaza' had met the legal definition set out in Article II of the 1948 UN convention on genocide."
Middle East Eye (Report on Dutch investigation): "Top genocide scholars unanimous that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza: Dutch investigation". Middle East Eye. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. The paper interviewed seven renowned genocide and Holocaust researchers from six countries - including Israel - all of whom described the Israeli campaign in Gaza as genocidal. Many said their peers in the field share this assessment.
NRC summary (UWA repository clipping to original NRC piece): "Seven renowned scientists almost unanimous: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza". UWA Profiles and Research Repository. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. NRC spoke to seven renowned genocide researchers about Gaza. They are not nearly as divided as public opinion: without exception, they qualify the Israeli actions as 'genocidal'. And according to them, almost all their colleagues agree with that.
Arab Center Washington DC (Policy Analysis): Asi, Yara M. (19 August 2025). "The Growing Consensus over Israel's Genocide in Gaza". Arab Center Washington DC. Retrieved 11 October 2025.: "...a growing consensus among experts and human rights organizations holds that genocide in Gaza is not a risk but a reality."
Democracy Now! (Interview): ""I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It": Prof. Omer Bartov on the Growing Consensus on Gaza". Democracy Now!. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. [Interviewer:] Professor Bartov, can you talk about the genocide scholars across the world who have come to the same conclusion?... [Bartov:] ...over time, many genocide scholars who are — and legal experts, experts in international law, who, like me, have been very cautious about applying this term [genocide], have gradually come to the conclusion that what we're watching is genocide. And that's important, in the sense that there is now, I think, a growing consensus over that view.
Center for International Policy (Policy Journal): "Growing Consensus on Israel's Atrocities in Gaza". Center for International Policy. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. [There is a] Growing Consensus on Israel's Atrocities in Gaza... Prominent Israel experts identifying a genocide in Gaza include Omer Bartov, Daniel Blatman, Amos Goldberg, Lee Mordechai, and Raz Segal, with Shmuel Lederman calling it the "consensus" view among genocide researchers.
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