Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Brock's Only Independent Student Newspaper
One of the only worker-managed newspapers in Canada
News

Here is what to expect from the United Nations’ 78th General Assembly

Updated
|
|
1 min.
692
Photo by Charlie Martin
Valentina Guerra
By Valentina Guerra

From Sept. 5th to Sept. 26th, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) will reconvene for its 78th session. Serving as the primary policy-making organ of the United Nations, the General Assembly will host all 193 UN Member States to discuss matters relevant to global sustainability.

The 78th Session will encompass the General Debate spanning from Sept. 19th to Sept. 26th, where Heads of State reunite to deliver speeches relevant to the priorities of their respective state in accordance with the theme of the debate. 

As stated by the president-elect of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, the overarching theme of UNGA78 will be “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.” 

Simultaneously, various side events and High-level forums will take place as part of the 78th session. These include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, and High-level dialogues in areas of finance, climate action and others. 

From Sept. 18th to 19th, the SDG Summit will convene to review the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in September 2015 to combat global issues such as climate change, poverty and inequality. Currently at the halftime mark to accomplish the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the SDG Summit will strive to review global progress towards the goals while enticing states to recommit to the agenda. 

On Sept. 20th, the UNGA78 will host High-level dialogues on Financing for Development, Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, and a Climate Ambition Summit. These political forums will be followed on Sept. 21st by a Preparatory Ministerial Meeting for the Summit of the Future, as well as the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage. 

Last, a High-level Meeting on the fight against tuberculosis will occur on Sept. 22nd, making it the second High-level UN meeting discussing tuberculosis. 

All upcoming UNGA meetings will go live on the UN Web TV Website. To hear the upcoming UNGA78 General Debate speeches live, click here. 

More by this author

RELATED ARTICLES

Budget cut impacts on Canadian university’s 2025 fall semester 

Anjelina Pathak -
The 2025 fall semester saw in effect how the federal government’s decision to reduce international students' acceptance into Canadian universities has impacted Canadian universities. Whether through hiring freezes, cancelled courses or ominous deficits, let’s review the budgeting changes of various universities across the country and their impacts on students.

Ontario’s 2026 rent increase guidelines and how it impacts Niagara region student 

Anjelina Pathak -
Ontario has set the 2026 rent increase guideline at 2.1 per cent, making this the maximum annual increase that landlords can apply to most rent-controlled tenancies without approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). Since the overwhelming majority of post-secondary students in Niagara live off-campus — where many pay market rents in shared houses, student-oriented rentals or apartments — here is a breakdown of how the new guideline will, and won’t, affect off-campus students. 

 Grok A.I. has been used to undress women and children on X 

Adhi Murday -
Content warning: This article contains references to sexual violence.  Grok, the A.I. platform built into Elon Musk’s X — formerly known as Twitter — is being used to undress women and children who had publicly available photos of themselves on the platform.

 WestJet faces host of complaints over tightly spaced seating  

Adhi Murday -
WestJet has been facing significant backlash online after a recent video of two passengers on a WestJet flight documenting the available legroom in the non-reclining seats went viral.  

The U.S. intervention in Venezuela, explained 

Owen Theriault -
The United States’ escalation of the Venezuela conflict is more than distant geopolitics. Its effects will be felt across global oil markets, international law and human rights with consequences that extend far beyond Latin America. 

A battle of fiduciaries: tensions flare throughout BUSU’s Board of Directors and Brock student community after removal of Omar Rasheed as Chair 

Christian Roethling -
Students across Brock University and the Muslim Students’ Association are demanding change from their students’ union after Omar Rasheed was abruptly removed from his position as BUSU Board Chair during a controversial September meeting.

Bill 33: what students should know 

Anjelina Pathak -
Ontario’s Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, received Royal Assent on Nov. 20, creating a set of postsecondary law changes that will take effect only if and when the government proclaims Schedule 3. The schedule would require publicly assisted universities and colleges to publish admission criteria and access applicants on merit, authorize new regulations on admissions and student fees and require institutions to develop research security plans subject to ministerial directives. 

Aubrey Reeves presents findings on Canada’s Arts and Culture Sector 

Emma Martin -
On Dec. 1, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) hosted local arts leaders, policy advocates and community members for a presentation on new national research, highlighting the economic and social contributions of Canada’s arts and culture sector.

SECTIONS

CONNECT WITH US

Christian Roethling, Editor-in-Chief

croethling@brockpress.com

Harsha Manjunatha, Business Manager

hmanjunatha@brockpress.com

www.brockpress.com

1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1

© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv