it will spark mass action or serve the interests of the powerful it can obscure the truth forge narratives and rewrite the listening post gives you the fruit picture just 0. a u.n. general assembly like never before world leaders mark 75 years since the un's creation at a subdued ceremony to use it and demick. sam is a down this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up calling for sanctions against alexander lukashenko by the roosters opposition leader appears before a european parliamentary panel. protests in egypt demonstrators demands president of the fatah has sisi stepped down the u.n.

to global nuclear watchdog says iran has complied with demands a day after u.s. threat to impose more sanctions. a special ceremony is underway at the united nations to mark 75 years since its creation world leaders will address the u.n. most of them via prerecorded videos due to the krona virus and that mic un secretary general antonio opened the event and then address it celebrated the accomplishments of the un but he also warned the organization is needed now more than ever i met committee. biodiversity is collapsing. poverty is again rising hatred is spreading geopolitical tensions are escalating and nuclear weapons remain on hair trigger

alert transformative technologies have opened up new opportunities but also exposed new sets and the covered 19 pandemic as laid bare the worlds for the jewett these we can only address them together. diplomatic editor james bays is at the united nations and james as we heard in that sound bite there the u.n. secretary general trying to really draw attention to the achievements of the united nations this comes at a of course a very critical time for international multilateral action. absolutely because this is the u.n. the 75th birthday you can look at the actual dates and say well that nothing actually happened on this day 75 years ago when in fact that building there that wasn't built for another 7 years after the foundation of the u.n.

but now looking back at the achievements of the u.s. and 75 years ago clearly the world came together after a world war and decided that working together was the best way forward for the common good the big test this year on the 75th anniversary a year when they were trying to rebuild those ideals of the u.n. was covert 19 and i think nearly every observer will say that the world failed that test and individual leaders focused on their national response and didn't come together internationally and this time the u.n. has looked very very irrelevant 75 years ago although there wasn't a general assembly on this day if you had a big world meeting world leaders had to come in person because there was none of the technology to allow virtual meetings this time around everyone has to attend virtually because of the pandemic that's the rule that the u.n. has decided only the u.n. secretary general and the president of the general assembly who's speaking right

now in the assembly hall are actually there in person and there are very strict rules because of covert 19 in the general assembly hall each delegation is only allowed one single person in most cases their ambassador to sit in the hall and then most of the major speeches both on the 75th anniversary event which is to. place today and on the big speeches that we see every year with each country laying out its position on global affairs which start from choose day here in new york all of those will be delivered as video messages by world leaders speaking from their home nations in the past james in has got quite exciting sometimes contrary to what you might think about u.n. events with heads of state think back so there is a kind of you know tearing up u.n. documents. how exciting are we expecting you know the next few days to be now given the sort of subdued feeling of covert itis showing.

well i think the major of feeling an atmosphere here is pretty lackluster to be honest with you probably the most low key general assembly in 75 years i can't say i've covered all 75 years but i have been standing here a long time in fact the 1st general assembly i covered was a decade ago and the normal barss disappeared normally where i am now there are many more camera crews than normal there are normally leaders coming in and out of the u.n. entrance here we're able to talk to them and i think that's the thing that's missing yes we're going to get the speeches we get every year and they make news and they're important and we will analyze them this year as we do every year but a lot of the real business goes on not on the public stage but backstage in the corridors of the u.n. where officials where diplomats where foreign ministers where leaders even bump

into each other or arrange to meet each other and that's where the real business gets done in those one or one sessions there are none of those this year. thanks very much diplomatic out said james. well as we mentioned it's been 75 years since the united nations was formed more than a 1000000 people around the world have been asked about their hopes for the future and their vision for the un for most people the immediate priority is better health care safe water and education 87 percent of those who took part in the un survey said global cooperation is necessary to deal with today's challenges and the pandemic has made that even more crucial 74 percent see the agency playing an essential role in dealing with many problems affecting the world more than half view the un as separate from their lives and say they don't know much about it

and some daws is the director of the project on un governance and reform at the center for international studies at the university of oxford joins us now on skype from oxford good to have you with us so how can we reconcile explain those 2 figures with or which i read out there seems to be a majority of people believe in joint action but at the same time a majority of people say they're not exactly sure the u.n. is relevant in their lives. indeed we still have a united nations but also a very divided world. while on the one hand we still have in the words of my former boss kofi annan problems. without passports require solutions that transcend borders the united nations has sometimes struggled to connect to individual people and show how the u.n. makes a difference in its lives. but i think that in his remarks in new york this afternoon

. the secretary general of the u.n. clearly articulated how the u.n. actually has made a difference in solving conflicts in eradicating smallpox and in providing humanitarian assistance the trouble is the problems that stop so often people feel that they they are left out of solutions and in the un isn't necessarily there for them is the challenge greater in this era where we've seen populism nationalism a move against a multilateral action in some of the most powerful countries in the world. definitely the 2nd general and the president the general assembly both recognize that that we're here now at a really difficult time where when the advocating populism and nationalism but the

problems don't see this i tend to see it as the heart of the glass half full but actually the united nations has been able to adapt. over many years and it was sponsored challenges but we face not just the problems you outlined but the covert pandemic which creates not just health challenges and the need to respond in a co-operative where the motorman multilaterally to banda makes but also it's made everything else harder it's made the resolution of conflict harder the protection of human rights harder and in particular the achievement of the sustainable development goals and the paris agreement on climate change so. we're in a much more complex world i like the way someone described it is as the un needs less acronyms and more synonyms in other words indeed to get better at emotional

intelligence connecting to people and i think that's one of the things that the losers of globalization are telling us a loud and clear whether in the us or in europe over breck's it or elsewhere in the world that we need to do better both the livery in the channel system but also about hearing and responding to people's concerns. has the un developed with time to represent the changing realities of the world the way that it structure of course represents the power structures which existed after walled war 2 and often we hear frustration about how the un is unable to intervene because it's paralyzed by one of the 5 key powers whether it's in relation to the syria conflict or the palestinian israeli conflict where resolutions are sometimes not implemented yet because it's so hard to amend the un charter you need 2 thirds of member states

to vote for it in the un general assembly and then you need 2 thirds of member states including all the 5 permanent members to ratify structural changes to the un have been more or less this very very certainly a mission impossible though isn't there i mean can you think of a single case whether that has been successful. only happened 3 times the security council was expanded in 165 with the addition of 4 nonpermanent members so it went from 11 to 15 but the p 5 the permanent members stayed the same and the economic and social council was expanded twice but but there hasn't been any other structural change on the question of the peto you're absolutely right that the veto on issues like syria or the israeli palestinian conflict. has stopped action in those areas we mustn't forget however that 90 percent of un security

council resolutions are still passed by consensus so for example there's this 14 peacekeeping operations all agreed either by consensus or close to consensus in the security council that are saving lives from everywhere from arlie to the democratic republic of congo to somalia and also a plethora of of mediation peace operations both at the un the african union the arab league and elsewhere so why oh why are we you know we were very aware in the news of the of the few cases where the terror is now you it actually hides a great deal of consensus on most conflicts and most issues so i think there's a positive in there as well all right thank you very much for your analysis sam dawes thank you very much but the russian opposition leaders had lamech to one hour skier says the e.u. must impose sanctions on president alexander lukashenko she spent the day meeting

with top european union officials in brussels the government in belarus is accusing the e.u. of interfering in its domestic affairs comes after tens of thousands of people marched through minsk on sunday demanding the president's resignation. i'm also asking you to demonstrate solidarity with a people support bill or a civil society and media organizations that remained under constant pressure by authorities consider criminal investigation against those individuals involved in human rights crimes bill rose such as rapes and tortures. i have compiled the list of people who participated in their brutal crackdown sanctions against them can be adopted under european magnitsky act stuff has more now from minsk. it's been quite

a delicate balancing act until now in the past 6 weeks since this political crisis started between the government here and also the opposition on the other hand and europe because the more pressure was coming from europe and the opposition on the government here there was a lot of fear that the bellows and the local shanghai would be more pushed towards russia so for a long time there was this hope that russia then quickly and could have been engaged in some kind of dialogue looking for a successful for a look at a replacement someone who was better accepted by the people here and belarus but since the meeting between the 2 leaders last week between look at shanghai and bulletin in which it has 3 if to rate of his support for this whole foundation but then also promised to put more money into his regime $1.00 and a half 1000000 a 1000000000 u.s. dollars so since then the mood has changed and i think we can safely say that the

kind of guy yes visit to brussels could be the start of a new face of this whole crisis. that have been protests in several egyptian cities calling on the president to step down security forces have arrested more than 1000 people ahead of demonstrations to stop them from taking place reports. define government orders to stay home thousands of egyptians marched on sunday to express their anger tough to tear rating conditions and called on the president to resign. south of the capital cairo and giza demonstrators were chanting against the military police later fire tear gas to disperse the crowd of stone throwers. security was heightened ahead of the demonstrations after actor and businessman turned opposition figure. called for mass protests against president abdel fatah sisi from exile in spain to how do most egyptians unite out of love for the egyptian people take the. your country again don't leave it in all c.c.'s hands

down with the c.c. regime down with the c.c. regime don't go home do not go if we go home they will detain us don't go home we're in the streets and now we need to stay there and. there were similar scenes one year ago after all the accuse the military run government of widespread corruption and stealing millions of dollars of public money thousands rallied then and thousands were arrested after in $1.00 of the biggest crackdowns of cc's rule more than $2300.00 people according to amnesty international this time the rates came 1st it was over a 1000 preempts tensions at metro stations bus stations areas like this and there's been a crackdown the rest. came back to this special session of the un general assembly where the u.s. acting deputy ambassador to the u.n. is speaking let's this nation it is for good reason that those who compose the u.n. charter and frame the u.s.

constitution began with a reminder that government and multilateral institutions exists to serve the people it is my great honor today to represent the american people president donald j. trump and u.s. ambassador to the united nations kelly craft as we mark the 75th anniversary of the united nations 75 years ago the united states stepped forward when this bold new venture known as the united nations needed a permanent home and we remain proud to service that home to this day. it is hard to grasp the remarkable evolution of the united nations over the last 75 years from cautious early steps among a few global leaders today's vast networks of organizations agencies and functions the un has grown well beyond the vision of its founders and yet it is

that vision that grounds this institution and must continue to guide its every action it is outlined clearly in the un charter and bears reminding that the un was founded to promote peace and save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and reaffirm faith and fundamental human rights and many ways the un has proven to be a successful experiment with notable exceptions its convening power brings much of the world to the table despite some unfortunate failings the un's blue helmets have worked to maintain peace for decades through missions around the world and organizations such as the world food program saves lives and improves futures every day the united states has played a central role in these successes not only as host nation but as the un's largest

and most reliable funder for all of its 75 years. that commitment ensures that u.n. organizations are able to reach millions in need to coordinate global humanitarian action and convene on issues requiring urgent action but there are also reasons for concern the united nations has for too long been resistant to meaningful reform too often lacking in transparency and too vulnerable to the agenda of autocratic regimes and dictatorships. new threats also require new agility from the u.n. threats that include theft of intellectual property and efforts to undermine internet freedom but the chant administration this anniversary is an important moment to mark the many successes of the united nations but to do so with clear eyes and it renewed determination to see this important body serve its intended

purpose. the 75th anniversary of the un is the right time to ask questions about the institution strengths and weaknesses review and learn from its failures and celebrate its accomplishments i join my colleagues and counterparts from around the world in marking this important moment thank you very much. ok the u.n. has proved to be a successful experiment and the u.s. has played an important role in this success the words there of the acting deputy ambassador to the united nations sheriff norman chalet let's bring in our diplomatic editor james bays now joins us live from the u.n. u.n. headquarters there so james you i'm sure you were listening to the speech there by the acting deputy ambassador for the united states to the u.n. and she was talking about. the commitment which the u.s. has shown as the most reliable fund to the organization. that reliability of the

u.s. of course has been called into question under the current trump era by some members correct. yes absolutely the words of that speech were what you probably would have expected from many u.s. officials speaking up wasn't at all controversial what i think people be remarking on is who gave the speech because this is the 75th anniversary it's a big set piece occasion here at u.n. headquarters and i can tell you the u.n. gave us the prime speaking slots because they are the host country so you can make an excuse for what is probably the most powerful nation to speak 1st because it is the host of the u.n. but i think everyone in the u.n. was expecting this speech to come from president donald trump that for days had been billed that he was going to speak at 75th the vent here on monday and then

speak in the u.s. speech on tuesday so there you have the deputy ambassador in fact she's only the the acting deputy ambassador a career state department official speaking ahead of president president xi all these others who are going to be speaking now she was speaking live because she was the u.s. representative in the room you are now one representative only from each of the $193.00 countries and it's certainly within the rules but i think people will be asking whether this was a snub whether it was a deliberate snub a little bit of context where everyone else is president trump we believe is in washington where for example is the secretary of state who normally fill in for the president where is the u.s. ambassador of the u.n. well i can tell you they are all in washington d.c. because in less than an hour there's an event related to the u.n. related to international sanctions on iran which the u.s. claim of snapback everyone else in the international community say they haven't so they're attending that event their own event in washington role than attending this

big commemoration of the 75th anniversary as i say there will be some who see this as a snob did the u.s. mean it is that was it deliberate not at all clear. all right let's thank james bays then let's bring in sam dorsey is the director of the project on un governance and reform at the center for international studies at the university of oxford joins us once again on skype from oxford good to have you with us so as i'm sure you were following we've just had the speech by the u.s. acting deputy ambassador to the united nations what's happened to the u.s. role or what is happening to the u.s. role in the united nations whether it's from the iran nuclear deal to the issue that tony a good terrorist mentioned in his speech a short while ago of the success of the paris climate accord increasingly looks like the u.s.

is the odd man out rather than in. in indeed it does. as your diplomatic correspondent to mention there is a gap between the rhetoric and the and the reality there's been a lot a lot of concern about wholesale withdrawal of the united states from the united nations but so far the actual actions have been quite limited reducing funding to the world health organization and a couple of other parts of the un giving notice of withdrawal for the paris climate agreement that doesn't take effect of course it took just after the u.s. elections so it may not actually happen. so i think it's very symbolic that only 8 very cheery our ambassadors gave their us his speech at the u.n. 75th anniversary given that the united states was one of the major. creators of the united nations a huge push behind the construction of

a and assertively as its host of the largest funder for the last 75 years but so far we've seen actually quite recently positive attitude from from the united states but with this engagement into that vacuum china has entered president xi who will hear from later early in the in the general assembly in prerecorded. tape recording has has said that much of the terrorism is absolutely indispensable and that china is going to be a champion for developing countries within the united nations that's part of what we're seeing in the shift of of international affairs with that with a slight stepping back of the united states. when the u.s. steps bank though is that does that in some cases undermine and weaken u.n. action or we simply saying the u.n. fine new leadership under other member states which of can can really feel the u.s.

is boots. it's a great question and i think the jury's still is still open to that. i think the united nations needs the u.s. it's. such an indispensable country and i think that croly is also true there are a number of issues from migration to climate change which it's hard for the united states to to address on its own and indeed as it seeing in iran it pulled out of a really carefully calibrated deal that had countries like germany the u.k. china russia on the u.s. on board and now that it's outside wants to somehow say that this still party to that agreement and and to and to stop the military sanctions back on the back on iran so the u.s. i think is realizing it can't have its cake and eat it but it's a it's i think it's very difficult for her to know really what this means for the

to be united nations and i think the rivalry between great powers whether it's between the u.s. and china or recently we've seen in data between china and india i think that's going to continue as the backdrop to the un's work regardless of whether president trump is reelected in november all right thanks once again but to get your analysis on that i'm sure come back to you later on too is this this is going to go on all day isn't it thanks so much for now thanks so much. also ahead of al-jazeera the u.k.'s chief scientific advisor warns kind of virus cases could reach 50000 a day a message and action is taken. hundreds of mysterious elephant deaths in months one and now scientists believe they know what's causing it don't have that hard day coming up shortly.

how low we have a developing tropical system which is going to bring some very heavy rain into japan and see the circulation here that's going to continue just making its way further north as it had some wet weather in recent days around japan this weather system this weather front vacs in the process of pulling out of the way but we'll see that west the weather just gather push up towards q shoot towards honshu as we go through chews day and on into wednesday will be very heavy at times we could see some localized flooding in tokyo certainly in the mix here as well for a time some very heavy busts of rain want to showers into the eastern side of the korean peninsula some heavy showers to the northeast and parts of china beijing will see some light showers from time to time what's the weather down towards the south and some big downpour said the possibility head again could see some localized flooding have seen flooding in parts of western india with the latest on

the monsoon rains pushing right up across kerala kind of soccer mom russia easing further north was a little circulation there in the by have been golson all tropical storm this one actually this was new that's made its way across myanmar into bangladesh northeastern parts of india will see some heavy rain as well pushing all the way up into nepal for this couple of days. after nearly 2 decades of conflict in afghanistan. the warring parties me face to face at the negotiating table were watching them now we're in a different phase and i wish the afghans can't blame the united states you know do this through social looking at it with urgency it's a blast but i don't see that in the more urgent need of the african some of the key

players of the peace process talk to our jazeera. welcome back you're watching al-jazeera time to recap our headlines now the u.n. general assembly celebrating its 75th anniversary in new york secretary general antonio has called for global solidarity to tackle the many challenges facing the world the leader of the host nation u.s. president donald trump skipped monday's event but the russian opposition leaders for the finance guy says the e.u. must impose sanctions on president alexander lukashenko she's in brussels for a meeting with the top european union officials there have been protests in several

egyptian cities calling on president of the fatah has sisi to step down police fired tear gas in gazer just south of the camp for security forces that arrested more than a 1000 people ahead of demonstrations to stop them from taking place. the un's nuclear watchdog says iran has complied with demands for access to sensitive sites the comments from the international atomic energy agency were made during the group's annual conference in vienna it comes a day after the u.s. declared it will unilaterally reimpose sanctions on iran under a clause of the nuclear deal we needed to continue our so important work. in terms of inspections in many countries including in cases like in the islamic republic of iran we were able to solve some important difficulties we had there restart corp and we continue the

indispensable inspection activity in that country as in the rest of the world we weather every crisis through diplomacy and we will continue doing so the round supreme leader says his country will not back down in the face of aggression on sunday iran's president threatened a strong response if sanctions are reimposed britain france and germany say sanctions relief will continue as said bank has more from toronto. speaking on the occasion of the start of the iran iraq war 40 years ago and what he said was that the west the united states and the west armed iraq they gave him weapons but didn't iran and he said specifically talking about the west he said that the europeans trampled over their human rights when they were dealing with iraq and arming saddam hussein and said this is the west we should remember this if

you keep these memories in mind when dealing with the west now that's a message not just for the iranians it's the message to the institutions here and the politicians but also western leaders and he's letting the west know that this is approaching the approach to iran takes that has been shaped by a conflict that iran iraq war and how the west armed saddam hussein so iran is still very suspicious and skeptical of the west and in terms of buying arms well yesterday divides the reef the foreign minister said iran hasn't. had arms trade with the west since the 1979 revolution here and they're looking to friendly countries essentially russia and china but i had to look how many of the spiritual and political leader of the country also issued a warning he said that any aggressor should know that iran is that weak they know iran isn't weak and they would think twice before attacking the country because they know that iran won't be backing down from a fight.