Style: 7 Girls To Watch At The UN Basic Meeting

The 2020 United Nations General Assembly was deemed the ‘’ultimate Manel’’ by Fortune Magazine because the first day did not contain a single speech by a female politician. In fact, delegates had to wait until about the 50^th time slot for the first female participant to deliver her speech. “I think the General Assembly just always is a inordinately male affair, isn’t it?’’ Richard Gowan, the U.N. expert at the Crisis Group, said.

While the number of women attending the assembly hasn’t risen significantly, women are claiming earlier speaking slots and will likely have an impact on the proceedings of the discussions. This year Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova is in the 14^th time slot, a far cry from the 50^th time slot that women leaders had to wait for in 2020.

Topics-wise, Ukraine will likely remain at the top of the list, but the General Assembly also tends to offer a few surprises. Many female leaders in Europe have been setting the tone on the war in Ukraine, and as such, female politicians could be at the center of this year’s debate. There are also new faces that will come, and some movers and shakers.

The following list is based on both a provisional list of speakers and the independent confirmation of U.N. diplomats. The list of leaders attending is likely to change.

Here are a few names to watch out for:

Mia Mottley of Barbados

Wherever the Barbadian prime minister Mia Mottley goes, she tends to draw people’s attention. That was certainly the case in New York City last year, when the Caribbean leader made headlines for delivering a Bob Marley-inspired speech on climate change.

Mottley is a confirmed speaker at the debate this year and Richard Gowan expects nothing less this time around: “she has proved highly effective at seizing the headlines,’’ he said of Mottley. “I imagine that we will hear her articulate the concerns of developing countries over the inadequate U.N. response to climate change and the challenges of the global food crisis, or other divisive issues probably in a pretty powerful fashion again.’’

Mottley has fundamentally changed her country’s political trajectory since her last U.N. speech as she recently transformed Barbados into a Republic. As such, it is worth watching her speech to see if she mentions the British crown – or even just to hear which reggae song she could use as a rallying cry this time.

Liz Truss of the United Kingdom

Liz Truss still has a pretty significant hurdle to overcome before making it to the U.N. General Assembly: she must win the leadership race of the Conservative Party next Monday. However, she is by far the favorite and if she does indeed win, she can expect to be in the spotlight at the General Assembly. ‘’I think one thing to listen out for in her speech is what she says about China. She is known to be extremely hawkish on China and she sees China as a sort of a challenge to the UK on par with Russia,’’ according to Gowan, adding that chances are high that she will also use the U.N. podium to once again “try to justify Brexit’’

A U.N. diplomat confirmed that it is expected that “the new UK government delegation will be led by the new Prime Minister.’’ Truss has attended the high-level week in New York City before as foreign secretary.

If she does speak on behalf of the country later this month, diplomats and expert can probably expect a change of tone and delivery style from her predecessor, Boris Johnson. “There is a contrast to Johnson who used to make very jokey speeches in New York.” In his speech last year, for instance, Johnson surprised the world by mentioning Kermit the frog in front of a room full of dignitaries while talking about climate change. “Truss is much more straight down the line,’’ Gowan adds, ‘’some would say she has a slightly wooden political performance but there’ll be a focus on her.’’

Maia Sandu of Moldova

When Maia Sandu was elected President of Moldova in 2020, she probably didn’t expect to be dealing with an existential threat while in office. But that is what is happening as her small, land-locked country, a neighbor of Ukraine, is perceived as a potential future target of the Kremlin, or at least in its sphere of influence.

A representative from Moldova’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that Sandu will attend the event. Sandu’s overall rapprochement with the West and her move to join the EU is now central to Moldova’s foreign policy, and the question is how she’s going to use her platform at the U.N. podium to continue that work. “She’ll certainly get extra attention,’’ Gowan said, “given that there have been a lot of concerns through the course of the year that Moldova could be collateral damage in the Russian-Ukrainian war. She will certainly be out there making the case for Moldova to get the maximum amount of aid and the maximum amount of European support.’’

Xiomara Castro of Honduras

Xiomara Castro is a somewhat familiar political figure at the U.N. and in her home country of Honduras, but she is new to the role of president. The former First Lady became President a few months ago, following the path of her husband, Manuel Malaya, who led Honduras from 2006 to 2009 before being ousted by a coup. As the first woman President of Honduras, Castro is poised to set the agenda for her country’s diplomacy at the U.N. Local newspaper La Prensa confirmed the news of her attendance on Thursday.

For Gowan, Castro’s approach to the U.N. is rather different from that of many other developing countries, which will make her speech worth watching. “Honduras is interesting because it has asked the U.N. for help and it hasn’t received a lot of attention in New York at all,’’ he said. “At a time when a lot of governments, whether it’s Mali or Myanmar, are doing everything to keep the U.N. out of their business, she could actually make quite a compelling case about why the U.N. can actually help states with their domestic problems.’’ Honduras has asked last February the U.N. to help the country fight corruption.

Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia

With more than 20 million food insecure people and a war still ravaging the Tigray region, Ethiopia’s President, Sahle-Work Zewde has a lot on her plate. “Given that the war is resuming after an extended truce, if the President comes, she will in a pretty ugly position having to defend the return to conflict,’’ Gowan said.

While her role is ceremonial, she is a former high-level official of the U.N., and as such she understands the ins and outs of the institution.

Zuzana Caputova of Slovakia

The Slovak President is enjoying a lot of firsts this year: She is, as of now, the first woman and the first EU leader to speak at the debate.

Because Slovakia is a member of both NATO and EU and a neighbor of Ukraine, her prime-time spot could allow her to set the tone for debate on Russia and Ukraine.

Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern already made U.N. history in 2018 by bringing her then-baby Neve to the U.N. compound. Ardern leader recently signed an op-ed warning the world of the danger of a nuclear catastrophe surrounding the war in Ukraine, and how it affects the Pacific region. She declared a climate emergency in her country in 2020, and Ardern could be heading to New York with a similar message for the world this time around – with or without young Neve.

While New Zealand has indicated it will be represented at the prime minister level in the provisional list of speakers, New Zealand’s mission to the U.N. did not answer requests regarding Ardern’s possible attendance.