ANKARA
By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun
When world leaders gather in New York on Wednesday for the UN General Assembly they will face a host of problems to tackle in five days.
Top of the agenda for 140 heads of state and government will be how to deal with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria, murdered thousands in those countries and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
They must also work to shore up the delicate cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and do what they can to put a permanent peace plan in place to end a five-month conflict that has seen more than 3,000 killed.
On top of these man-made catastrophes, the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa will also dominate deliberations as the death toll in the region heads towards 3,000.
The perennial problem of climate change and trying to persuade member states to cut their greenhouse gas emissions will also feature high on the list of prominent problems.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech is expected include details of a resolution on banning overseas fighters intending to join ISIL.
Crucial for the U.S. is whether any other countries can be persuaded to join the coalition against ISIL, chief among them Turkey, which had refused to sign up while its hostages were being held by the jihadists. The 46 consular staff and their families have since been rescued.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to take the podium as well on Wednesday and hold a number of head-to-head meetings with other heads of state.
As well as how to defeat ISIL, politicians and diplomats will focus on the humanitarian situation in Iraq and Syria, which is a particular concern for neighboring countries like Turkey, which has taken in around 1.5 million Syrian refugees, with more than 130,000 arriving over the weekend.
A climate change summit was heralded on the weekend by a 300,000 People's Climate March through New York and the national leaders are expected to announce their environmental commitments on Tuesday.
Ban has said there is no Plan B for action on climate change as there is no Planet B.
Last Friday the Security Council issued a statement that described the Ebola outbreak as "a threat to international peace and security" and called on member states to respond urgently to the crisis and stop closing their borders with affected countries.
Nearly $1 billion is needed to tackle the virus, according to the World Health Organization.
The ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where clashes between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army is claiming lives despite a cease-fire agreed between Kiev and Moscow earlier this month.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will also be at the UN and will be lobbying to secure Turkey's UN Security Council membership for 2015-2016. Turkey is competing with Spain and New Zealand to have a chair on the council.
www.aa.com.tr/en
