The United Nations’ 80th General Assembly session, opening in New York on September 9, 2025, was always destined to be a headline event, marking eight decades of multilateral diplomacy and global cooperation. But this year, the world’s largest diplomatic gathering found itself at the center of a storm, not just for its ambitious agenda on peace, climate change, and artificial intelligence, but for a controversy that has put the very principles of international dialogue to the test.
On July 31, the United States Department of State imposed sanctions on the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA), refusing to grant U.S. visas to their members. This decision, coming just weeks before the high-level week of the UN General Assembly, meant that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other Palestinian officials would not be able to attend the session in New York. The move, according to the U.S. State Department, was justified by what it called America’s “national security interests,” accusing both organizations of “failing to repudiate terrorism” and “undermining peace efforts” through international legal campaigns. The U.S. statement also blamed the PA and PLO for contributing to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire and Hamas’s refusal to release hostages.
The visa denial triggered swift and widespread outrage. According to Tempo, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was quick to dismiss rumors that the General Assembly’s high-level week would be moved from New York to Geneva in protest. “I’m not aware of any preparations being made to move the General Assembly high-level session out of New York,” Dujarric said, adding that reports on “fake news sites” claiming such a move were “wrong.” He emphasized, “We were very clear on expressing our concern about that decision, which we feel goes against the host country treaty,” referring to the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement that obligates the U.S. to provide diplomatic access to the UN. Dujarric continued, “What we would like is for any diplomat delegations, journalists, people who have business in front of the UN to be granted access to the territory of the US, so they can enter the UN premises as outlined in the host country.”
Despite the UN’s official stance, the controversy only deepened. European leaders, including Danish MEP Per Clausen, openly suggested moving the diplomatic conference on the Israel-Palestine issue to the UN’s Geneva headquarters to guarantee Palestinian representation and send a symbolic rebuke to Washington. “This is about respecting international standards and defying political meddling in world diplomacy,” Clausen stated, according to VOVWORLD. The Palestinian delegation had been scheduled to participate in the high-level General Debate on September 23 and an independent summit on the two-state solution, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on September 22. These events were expected to be pivotal, with several Western countries—including the UK, France, Belgium, and Canada—announcing plans to recognize the State of Palestine during this session. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters, “France is prepared to fully recognize the State of Palestine, and will do so. This recognition, a major decision by France, expresses a refusal, and also contains a call. Refusing to see the side of war standing victorious over that of peace.”
The U.S. decision, however, was not without precedent. In 1988, the U.S. excluded PLO leader Yasser Arafat from a UN session. But this year’s blanket ban is broader, covering an entire national delegation. The move has raised echoes of long-standing debates about the limits of the host country’s power under the UN Headquarters Agreement and the potential for political motivations to undermine the UN’s credibility as a neutral forum. As reported by Tempo, Belgium considered issuing diplomatic passports to Palestinian officials to enable their participation in New York, but the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ultimately rejected the proposal. “A Belgian diplomatic passport is reserved for Belgians who represent Belgium, a Community or a Region, or who hold a high-level political or diplomatic position,” the ministry said, noting that even if passports were issued, it wouldn’t guarantee U.S. entry due to visa requirements. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot didn’t mince words, calling the U.S. decision “unfair and counterproductive,” especially as countries work to revive the two-state solution under the Franco-Saudi initiative.
The 80th session of the UN General Assembly, themed “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” is set to tackle a formidable agenda. According to VOVWORLD, the session will span three weeks, with highlights including the UN’s 80th anniversary conference, the SDG Moment, the Climate Summit, and a high-level meeting to announce the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. The General Assembly adopted a resolution on August 26 to establish an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, tasked with assessing the opportunities, risks, and impacts of artificial intelligence. On September 3, the UN urged countries to submit climate protection roadmaps for inclusion in the Global Climate Action Report to be released at the Climate Summit on September 24.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in comments reported by VOVWORLD, underscored the stakes: “We identified how important it is cooperation in Artificial Intelligence and in the digital world. Not only cooperation among developed countries, but cooperation to allow developing countries also to be part of the benefits of Artificial Intelligence. On the other hand, climate of course is an area of extraordinary importance and we live in a moment in which the transition to renewables is demonstrating that renewables are the cheapest and the most effective way to produce energy. On the other hand, we are pushing for a new agenda for peace and a new agenda for peace means dialogue, means cooperation, means that different cultures and different civilizations can work together.”
Yet, for all the promise of multilateral progress, the shadow of the Palestine visa controversy looms large. The U.S. stance has further complicated its relationship with the UN, following years of strained interactions, including funding cuts and withdrawals from key UN bodies. Martin Jacques, former Senior Fellow at Cambridge University, warned, “The body that could be threatened by this America’s relationship with the United Nations. We’ll have to see what happens. I think that it would be very unfortunate and a negative development if America decides that it doesn’t want to be part of the United Nations. This would be a very big, big question indeed, but hopefully it won’t come to this.”
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that the U.S. may also deny entry to diplomats from Brazil, Iran, Sudan, and Zimbabwe under anti-terrorism laws—a move that, if realized, would mark a dramatic departure from diplomatic tradition and further test the resilience of the UN system. As the world watches, the 80th General Assembly session is shaping up to be a crucible for the principles of international diplomacy, with the outcomes likely to reverberate far beyond the walls of UN Headquarters.
As leaders gather in New York, the world waits to see whether the spirit of dialogue and cooperation can overcome the mounting challenges—or whether the very forum meant to unite nations will be marred by exclusion and division.
