Highlights on UN summit series

The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit opens at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 25, 2015. The much-anticipated UN Sustainable Development Summit opened on Friday at UN headquarters in New York to formally adopt an ambitious new sustainable development agenda. [Xinhua/Li Muzi]

The United Nations (UN), which is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding, will start its busiest time of the year in late September. The Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and other high-level meetings will continue to make headlines around the world.

Analysts predict that recommitting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, charting the blueprint for the next 15 years, as well as the discussion of hot topics such as regional conflicts, climate change and refugee crises are expected to rank high on the agenda.

Recommitment of the UN Charter

Celebrating the UN's 70th anniversary is about recommitting to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, safeguarding the benefits of victory in the World Anti-fascist War, fighting against the distortion of WWII history, and defending the international order based on the UN Charter.

"Currently, 154 heads of state or government and 30 ministers are expected to attend the Sustainable Development Summit," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, during a briefing on Sept. 17. "For the General Debate, 144 heads of state and government and 46 ministers are expected to attend."

The unprecedented number of attendance by top national leaders and ministers for the ensuing debate on peace and development indicated the importance of multilateralism which represents the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a speech celebrating the 70th anniversary of the organization's founding.

Charting the blueprint for the next 15 years

The UN Sustainable Development Summit, to be held between Sept. 25 and 27, will see the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda which covers 17 sustainable development goals and 169 specific targets including poverty reduction, health, education, gender equality and climate change.

After two years of negotiation, 193 UN members agreed upon the Agenda this August and determined to submit it to the Sustainable Development Summit after approval from the General Assembly on Sept. 1.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong confessed that China hopes the Agenda will be approved at the Sustainable Development Summit, and that it would orient future cooperation and development in related fields.

The role of China

China is playing a more constructive role in the UN system as the country's suggestion of holding the World Conference on Women in cooperation with UN Women has been met with popular response.

The conference, centered on promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, aims to recommit to women's issues and adopt concrete actions while simultaneously celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the gathering of world leaders at the UN Headquarters, according to Li Baodong.

The country is also expected to co-host a round table dialogue on South-South Cooperation which aims to define the best practice of development and chart future cooperation in the new era.

Global hotspot issues and regional crises

The UN summit will provide an opportunity for resolving global and regional "hotspot" issues through inclusive dialogues among world leaders, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. After the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, whether or not UN members can agree upon issues of climate change will be the next focus for sustainable development. Ban Ki-moon will hold a business luncheon on the sidelines of the summit series to promote talks regarding climate change.

According to the schedule, high-level meetings on issues relating to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian activities and violent extremism will feature heavily on the agenda. On Sep. 30, the Security Council will also hold a ministerial debate meeting centered on issues in the Middle East and regional conflict in North Africa. The refugee crisis will also feature heavily as Ban Ki-moon will host a high-level meeting concerning migrants and refugees.

Stéphane Dujarric said that the number of bilateral meetings on the sideline of this year's General Debate of the UN General Assembly will be well beyond that of last year which reached 1,300.