By Morris Wambua

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), once seen as a beacon of hope for global diplomacy and problem-solving, has gradually lost its way. Every year, world leaders flock to New York to engage in what was envisioned as a meaningful international collaboration for addressing pressing issues—climate change, poverty, peace, and more.

However, in recent years, the UNGA has become little more than a stage for grandstanding and political theater. This is especially true for many African leaders who, despite making passionate
speeches, return to their countries with little to show in terms of tangible progress. Instead, these appearances serve to manufacture public approval, boost personal prestige and ego back home, rather than catalyzing real change.

The UNGA: A Platform for Spectacle, Not Solutions

On paper, the UNGA provides an opportunity for nations to address key global challenges collectively. It is a forum where issues like economic development, international peace, and security are discussed in a theoretically democratic setting—every nation has a voice.

Conversely, in practice, the assembly has devolved into an annual spectacle.

Year after year, the speeches may change slightly in content, but the outcomes remain the same: no meaningful progress is achieved.

It is a platform where world leaders go to spit big vocabularies then go back home and do the exact opposite of what they said.

For African leaders, particularly, the UNGA has become a place where lofty promises and eloquent rhetoric take center stage, while substantive action is sidelined.

These leaders speak of attracting foreign investment, advocating for global reforms, and demanding increased international aid while pretending to sound like people who believe in equality, and self-sufficiency.

However, when they return home, the challenges they sought to address—political instability, economic stagnation, and social injustice—remain unaltered.

The UNGA offers them an international platform, but it has become increasingly clear that this
platform is used more for personal ego-boosting than for securing actionable solutions.

African Leaders: The Trap of Symbolism Over Substance

African countries continue to face entrenched issues—corruption, underdeveloped infrastructure, and weak governance, to name a few. Yet, African leaders appear content with using the UNGA as a platform for symbolism rather than substance.

Instead of pressing for meaningful discussions on how to tackle these internal problems or seeking reforms in the way global institutions operate, they rely on ceremonial speeches filled with ambitious goals.

Each year, the same appeals are made for international cooperation, foreign investment, and increased aid.

These are the same issues African nations have been raising for decades, and while these speeches are often delivered with great passion and poise, they fail to generate the outcomes their countries
desperately need.

What good is a well-crafted speech if it doesn’t lead to real action?

Moreover, African leaders seldom use the UNGA as a platform to challenge the global economic and political systems that perpetuate their countries’ dependency on external aid.

Instead, they resort to polished speeches designed to sound impressive to both international audiences and their domestic constituencies, knowing full well that nothing concrete will emerge from these hollow proclamations.

The result?

Year after year, the continent remains mired in the same struggles while its leaders continue to participate in the grand theater that the UNGA has become.

Non-Binding Resolutions: The Toothless Nature of the UNGA

One of the most significant flaws of the UNGA lies in the very nature of its resolutions: they are non-binding.

This means that while leaders can make ambitious promises and lofty commitments, there is no requirement for them to follow through. They face no consequences for failing to deliver on their
promises, making it easier to indulge in political grandstanding without any intention—or even capacity—of fulfilling those promises once they return home.

This toothless nature of the UNGA enables leaders to project an image of international statesmanship while effectively avoiding accountability. And it is not just African leaders who take advantage of this dynamic.

Global powers also use the assembly as a forum for diplomatic showmanship, knowing full well
that the actual decisions are made elsewhere—often in backroom meetings dominated by a select group of powerful nations.

The UN Security Council: The Real Seat of Power

While the UNGA gives every member nation an equal opportunity to speak, the real seat of power in the UN lies with the Security Council—particularly its five permanent members, each of whom holds veto power.

This imbalance highlights the reality that, despite their speeches at the UNGA, African nations have little influence over the actual decision-making processes that affect global governance.

Year after year, African leaders may speak passionately about the need for reforms in international trade, global financial systems, or even peacekeeping operations. Yet, they are ultimately sidelined when it comes to making the critical decisions that shape these systems.

In essence, the UNGA serves as little more than a distraction, allowing African leaders—and their counterparts from other less powerful nations—to feel included in global discussions while ensuring that real power remains concentrated in the hands of a few dominant players.

The Illusion of Inclusion: A Distraction from Real Reform

The annual spectacle of the UNGA gives the illusion of inclusion.

Every country, no matter how small or economically disadvantaged, gets a voice. Yet, this "voice" is, for the most part, symbolic.

The real decisions about global economic policies, security, and governance are made in forums
that exclude many of the nations that are most affected by these decisions. The UNGA, in this sense, becomes a convenient distraction, allowing powerful nations to present themselves as champions of equality and international cooperation while maintaining the status quo.

African leaders, in particular, seem to have fallen into this trap. Instead of focusing their efforts on advocating for genuine reforms in global governance structures—such as pushing for permanent African representation on the UN Security Council or reforming international financial systems—they continue to participate in the hollow ritual of the UNGA.

They deliver well-crafted speeches, but they fail to tackle the systemic imbalances that keep their countries marginalized on the world stage.

Why African Leaders Need to Rethink Their Approach

The first step towards meaningful change is recognizing the futility of the current approach.

African leaders must understand that the UNGA, as it currently operates, is not the place where real progress is made. Instead of treating it as an opportunity for self-promotion, they should use the platform to advocate for the kind of deep, systemic reforms that are necessary to shift the global power dynamics that keep their countries dependent on external aid and subject to the whims of more powerful nations.

For example, they could push for reforms to the World Trade Organization that would give African countries a more significant role in setting global trade policies.

They could advocate for a restructuring of international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to better serve the needs of developing nations. They could demand a permanent seat for Africa on the UN Security Council.

But none of these reforms will happen if African leaders continue to treat the UNGA as a platform for delivering eloquent but empty speeches.

They must move beyond the theater of diplomacy and start engaging in the hard work of real policy advocacy.

The Need for Action Over Rhetoric

The time for speeches has long passed.

If African leaders truly want to address the challenges facing their nations, they must recognize that the UNGA is not the venue for change.

The annual pilgrimage to New York may offer an opportunity for networking and diplomacy, but it should not be seen as the primary forum for advancing Africa's interests.

African leaders should instead focus on building alliances outside of the UNGA, forging coalitions with other developing nations to push for reforms in global institutions.

They must also hold themselves accountable for the promises they make, both at home and on the international stage.

Without accountability, the cycle of empty promises and political theater will only continue.

UNGA as a Symbol of Global Dysfunction

The UNGA has become a global stage for empty promises, political ego-boosting, and hollow symbolism.

African leaders, in particular, must reconsider their participation in this annual charade.

Instead of using the UNGA as a platform for self-promotion, they should focus on the real work of
advocating for systemic reforms that will empower their nations.

Until then, the UNGA will remain a symbol of global dysfunction—a stage where speeches are made, but no real progress is achieved.

If African leaders are serious about changing the fate of their nations, they must abandon the theater of the UNGA and engage in meaningful, action-driven diplomacy that leads to real outcomes.

Until then, the UNGA will continue to be a failure, a global platform for missed opportunities, empty
promises, and political posturing.