Yesterday’s article giving a rundown of when world leaders came to the rostrum of the General Assembly proved popular enough that we’re going to keep the series going throughout the week. Wednesday’s speeches include some of the most highly anticipated of this year’s session.
As predicted, yesterday’s speeches almost all ran over in length. The morning session managed to stretch out for long enough that the afternoon session started immediately after the last speaker of the former. That lack of a break put the schedule only ten minutes behind instead of an hour and forty-five minutes; that number soon grew again.
To watch the debate as it happens, the UN will be livestreaming the speeches here; session opens at 9:00 AM EDT. As before, below is a partially annotated list of the speaking order for the morning and afternoon sessions.
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
09:00 9th plenary meeting General Assembly Hall
1. Address by His Excellency Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour, President of the Republic of Yemen
[This is President al-Hadi’s first address to the General Assembly since taking power from long-time President Ali Saleh in February in a brokered transfer of power. President al-Hadi previously served as Vice-President.]
2. Address by Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia
3. Address by His Excellency Michael Chilufya Sata, President of the Republic of Zambia
4. Address by His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
[As noted yesterday, Luxembourg is in a struggle for a Security Council seat, hoping to beat out either Finland or Australia for one of two allotted to the Western European and Others Group.]
5. Address by His Excellency Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine
6. Address by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana
7. Address by His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
[This will be President Ahmadinejad’s eighth and final address to the General Assembly, given the term limits on Iran’s Presidency. He has already created controversy in his remarks around New York and will likely spur yet another mass walk-out of his speech.]
8. Address by His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic of Kenya
9. Address by His Excellency Bronisław Komorowski, President of the Republic of Poland
10. Address by His Excellency Mohamed Morsy, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
[President Morsy’s address is his first appearance since his election as Egypt’s President. Given the strong statement of Pakistan yesterday in favor of limiting free speech and the equally powerful one on protecting speech given by the United States, it will be interesting to see where Morsy’s address falls.]
11. Address by His Excellency Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of the United Mexican States
12. Continuation of the general debate [item 8]
Address by His Excellency David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
[As noted yesterday, Heads of Government are allotted to speak lower in the order. In the case of the United Kingdom, along with 15 other Member States, the Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II. The last time she addressed the General Assembly was back in 2010, the first time since 1957. The Queen has never spoken at the General Debate.]
Address by His Excellency Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan
[In a bid to retain the leadership of his Party in Japan, Prime Minister Noda vowed to raise the issue of ownership of disputed islands claimed by both Japan and China at the General Assembly. The meeting between the two on the sidelines did not go overly well and Noda may well raise the issue in his speech.]
Address by His Excellency Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council
[The only head of a regional organization allotted to speak to the General Debate, President Rompuy in theory represents Europe as a whole, through the European Union.]
Address by His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah, Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait
Address by His Excellency Mario Monti, Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy
Address by Her Excellency Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia
Break
15:00
10th plenary meeting General Assembly Hall
1. Address by His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, President of the Republic of Colombia
2. Address by His Majesty King Mswati III, Head of State of the Kingdom of Swaziland
3. Address by His Excellency Otto Fernando Pérez Molina, President of the Republic of Guatemala
4. Address by His Excellency Andry Nirina Rajoelina, President of the High Transitional Authority of the Republic of Madagascar
[The odd title held by Madagascar’s Head of State is due to a 2009 transfer of power widely seen as a coup in the island nation.]
5. Address by His Excellency Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia
6. Address by Her Excellency Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda, President of the Republic of Malawi
[Joyce Banda has been President of Malawi since the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in April. Her short Presidency has been held up as a model of reform and the peaceful transfer of power on the African continent.]
7. Address by His Excellency Anote Tong, President, Head of Government and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kiribati
8. Address by His Excellency Robert Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe
9. Address by His Excellency Michel Joseph Martelly, President of the Republic of Haiti
10. Address by His Excellency Nicolae Timofti, President of the Republic of Moldova
11. Address by His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of the Niger
12 Address by His Excellency Andris Bērziņš, President of the Republic of Latvia
13. Address by His Excellency Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Republic
[Togo sits on the UN Security Council this year, a position that will ensure that President Gnassingbe gets much more attention lavished on him by fellow Heads of State than normal.]
14. Address by His Excellency Evo Morales Ayma, Constitutional President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
[President Evo Morales doesn’t seem to have lessened the bluntness of his rhetoric in the years since he brandished a coca leaf at the General Assembly.]
15. Continuation of the general debate [item 8]
Address by Her Excellency Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice-President and Minister for Women’s Affairs of the Republic of the Gambia
Address by His Excellency Winston Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda
Address by His Excellency Elio Di Rupo, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium
Address by His Excellency Cheick Modibo Diarra, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mali
[The situation in Mali is one of the hottest issues at this year’s General Assembly. Between a junior officer-led coup earlier this year, famine, and instability due to an influx of weaponry and an on-going multi-front insurgency, Mali will be central to many discussions on the sidelines of the GA.]
As with yesterday, any speakers in the afternoon that don’t make it to the podium will continue on after 6 p.m. Should you happen to miss a few, the full speeches will be posted here following the conclusion of the session.