Each autumn, the nations of the world gather along the East River in Manhattan to speak into the record of history — and the 81st session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 22, 2026, carrying the weight of unresolved wars, a warming planet, and an institution searching for its next leader. Nearly 130 heads of state took the podium in turn, following rituals older than most of their governments, while one leader — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — was denied entry by the host nation and addressed the assembly only through a screen. The week's proceedings remind us that multilate