Behind the loudest issues, the UN is a world stage for disputes that are often out of the spotlight

The world’s largest stage is the sprawling complex in Midtown Manhattan where leaders meet each year to discuss the future of humanity.

The most powerful body of the United Nations – the Security Council – is paralyzed by disputes, so this year’s most varied speeches were delivered to the 193-member General Assembly.

Like the 15-nation Security Council with its five veto powers, UNGA has devoted much time to the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine and Sudan. But the more democratic institution has also directed global attention to topics little known outside individual countries and regions.

A look at some of the issues countries have brought to the world stage – or ignored – during their time on the global stage:

Guatemala-Belize

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo spoke on Tuesday and said his country was moving beyond its dark past of US-backed dictatorship, civil war and human rights abuses, saying “corruption has its roots in a past of authoritarianism, repression and violence politics…but we’re breaking free.” He turned to Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, UN reform and migration before focusing on a decidedly local issue, the long-running border dispute between Guatemala and Belize.

Guatemala was a Spanish colony and Belize belonged to Great Britain until Guatemala gained its independence in 1821. Guatemala claims to have inherited Spain’s claim to the approximately 4,200 square miles (11,000 km2) administered by Belize. Essentially the southern half of the country, the area has nature reserves, farming villages, fishing towns and a few Caribbean beaches. Belize rejects Guatemala’s claim to the land. Diplomatic relations and even air travel suffered and five Guatemalans died in shootings attributed to Belize.

But before the General Assembly, Arévalo cited the relative lack of bloodshed as an example to the world. “We have shown that the path of peace and respect for multilateral institutions is the most effective way to resolve international disputes,” he said.

North Macedonia

What’s in a name? The archetypal local dispute. It focuses on an ancient region divided by the modern national borders of Greece, Bulgaria and the country of North Macedonia.

This surname was adopted when the nation, with a population of about 2.1 million, declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Greece and what the UN used to clumsily call “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” they continued to support each other for nearly three decades. Greece has said the use of “Macedonia” implies territorial claims to its own northern province of the same name and to its ancient Greek heritage, not least as the birthplace of the ancient warrior king Alexander the Great.

The name fight has become “notorious as a difficult and intractable issue,” in the words of Zoran Zaev, the former prime minister of North Macedonia. Repeated rounds of UN-mediated negotiations proved futile until June 2018, when the government agreed to change the country’s name to North Macedonia. The change took effect, but the dispute slowed North Macedonia’s EU integration.

Bulgaria now has the main objection, a more important stumbling block than the name disagreement. President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova told the General Assembly on Thursday that “under conditions of conflict on European soil, the stagnation of European integration not only demotivates Macedonian citizens and slows down reforms, but also destabilizes the region of South-Eastern Europe, allowing the penetration of malignant imperial influences and great powers”.

Cuba

For decades, one of Cuba’s top foreign policy priorities has been ending the US trade embargo on the island, and the country has successfully devoted much of its diplomacy to winning over global criticism of the embargo.

According to Cuba’s U.N. mission, more than 25 countries addressed the embargo at this year’s AGM, and at least 11 leaders criticized the U.S. listing of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, another sanction that limits international trade. Many of the countries that spoke benefited from another of Cuba’s trademark programs, sending their well-trained and educated doctors to developing countries around the world.

Immediately after mentioning Ukraine and Gaza, Prime Minister Allah Maye Halina of Chad told the world that “we cannot ignore the embargo on Cuba, which hurts its people and hinders its development.” Mexico, Russia and China joined the chorus on Saturday, with China’s foreign minister saying “we once again urge the United States to completely lift the embargo, sanctions and terrorism designation against Cuba.”

The Gambia

Some local issues are uncomfortable to discuss in front of the world and almost every leader approaches these issues delicately or ignores them.

Gambian President Adama Barrow has been silent for months this year on a bill that would repeal a ban on female genital cutting, the removal of external genitalia by traditional community practitioners or health workers. The practice, which still occurs in The Gambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Somalia and other countries, can cause severe bleeding, death and birth complications.

Barrow said in June that he supported maintaining the ban – a statement seen as key to keeping it in place by the Gambia’s parliament. Barrow told the General Assembly this year that “my government places a great emphasis on women’s rights and we are committed to protecting and empowering women”.

“As president, I will continue to ensure that women and girls are protected and given the space they need to contribute meaningfully to our national development agenda,” he said.

But the numbers tell a more difficult story for Gambian girls and women. The United Nations estimates that about 75 percent of Gambian women were subjected to female genital mutilation as young girls. In the past eight years, about 30 million women globally have been cut, mostly in Africa, but also in Asia and the Middle East, UNICEF said in March.

Libya

Some countries came to the UN General Assembly against a background of deep internal turmoil and focused some blame on external interference.

Libya descended into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the ensuing chaos, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. After years of conflict, one of the country’s dueling authorities unilaterally sacked the bank’s powerful governor in August as militias mobilized in several key regions.

The presidential council in the capital Tripoli, which is allied with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s government that controls western Libya, dismissed Governor Sadiq al-Kabir, who for years had divided the country’s oil revenues between opposing parties. The conflict has led to the shutdown of one of the country’s main oil fields.

The political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections on December 24, 2021 and the refusal of Dbeibah – who led a transitional government in the western capital Tripoli – to step down. In response, Libya’s eastern parliament appointed a rival prime minister who has been replaced, while strongman military commander Khalifa Hifter continues to rule in the east.

The senior UN official in Libya, Stephanie Khoury, said in August that the situation in Libya had deteriorated “quite rapidly”. A number of UN envoys to the country have resigned after failing to make progress towards elections and unification. In April, the previous UN envoy for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, resigned, blaming the country’s warring parties and their foreign backers for the continuation of the conflict.

“The challenges are huge and complex before us,” Younis Menfi, chairman of Libya’s presidential council, told the General Assembly on Wednesday. “However, we are still trying to find consensual solutions to join our words and ranks and bring all parties to the table to find a national solution.”

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Associated Press reporters Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City, Elena Becatoros in Athens and Maggie Hyde in Cairo contributed.