UN general assembly in full swing

By Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News

While leaders call for climate action, convoys of vehicles idle outside

The United Nations General Assembly road show has arrived in New York, as it does every year.

Streets have been closed, security barriers erected on every avenue leading to the UN headquarters and summer temperatures are forcing the almost ubiquitous secret service agents, in their uniform dark grey suits, to wind down the windows of their black Suburbans parked on nearly every corner.

The ritual of the General Assembly allows each country's head of state or head of government - though some are represented by their foreign minister - to speak for 15 minutes.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is first up, followed by his US counterpart George W Bush.

The speeches of key countries are closely watched for any evidence of an inflection or shift in their foreign policies

Nearly 200 speeches and several days later, the representative of Trinidad and Tobago will be the last to speak.

Each country determines the issues that it wants to raise.

There is no agenda as such, but obviously the speeches of key countries are closely watched for any evidence of an inflection or shift in their foreign policies.

Universal aspirations

The UN is a multi-faceted organisation that often comes in for more than its fair share of criticism and that is often poorly understood.

It is the first time this UN event has addressed climate change

It is the Security Council - in large part a club of its most powerful members - that often receives the most publicity.

But the General Assembly is an opportunity to highlight once again its universal aspirations.

Each leader gets the same amount of time and the same moment in the spotlight, whether it be Afghanistan or Russia, Cape Verde or the Marshall Islands.

People tend to forget that for all the focus on the Security Council and its important resolutions much of the UN's day-to-day business goes on far from the headquarters here in New York.

There are peacekeeping forces in many of the world's trouble spots. Major UN agencies such as the UNHCR help bring relief to distressed populations.

The IAEA oversees nuclear safety and promotes civil nuclear power (as well as its more familiar watchdog role).

And the World Health Organisation has an essential role in helping to stamp out disease and promote medical care around the globe.

Climate push

The role of the UN has been illustrated this year by a series of events that occurred even before the General Assembly began.

There have been high-level meetings on Afghanistan and Iraq helping to marshal support for their embattled governments.

The Middle East Quartet has met to bolster the chances of an Israel-Palestinian peace and there has been the one-day "high-level event" on climate change.

This is the first time such a gathering has addressed climate change, an issue that has risen high on the international agenda.

It fully illustrates the paradoxes of international diplomacy - while the leaders call for action and express lofty thoughts, convoys of gas-guzzling vehicles idle outside.

The seniority of their cargo is indicated by the number of vehicles in each line and their allocation of those black Suburbans.

For the local media, this year has once again been dominated by the "evil in our midst" story - the presence of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the invitation offered to him to speak and answer questions at New York's Columbia University.

This, however, is Mr Ahmadinejad's third visit to the UN - he is becoming something of a regular feature.

And he is just the latest in a long line of controversial leaders who may not be liked by the US administration of the day, but who must be let in to speak at the UN's annual event.