Joly targets polarization in UN speech, urges liberals to reclaim the word 'freedom'

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization.

Joly is addressing the UN General Assembly on behalf of Canada after the annual gathering of leaders and ministers in New York.

Joly says countries need to work together to uphold rules on sovereignty and human rights, or the world will slip into more crises like those in Haiti and Afghanistan.

She also says liberal democracies need to reclaim the word "freedom," which she says is being used to spread hate speech and justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Joly is reiterating Canada's stance on issues in the Middle East, while calling out the Israeli government for opposing the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.

Joly also says it's "unacceptable" that the UN hasn't been led by a woman in the nearly eight decades of its existence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.