As leaders gather at UN, 'a time of turmoil and transition' (+video)

The Syrian conflict has bitterly divided the most powerful members of the Security Council, paralyzing the only U.N. body that can impose global sanctions and authorize military action. Russia, Syria's key protector, and China, have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to stop the violence and start political talks with opponents of his family's 40-year dictatorship who began demonstrating against his regime 18 months ago.

Germany's U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig, the current Security Council president, said "change in the Arab world" will be uppermost in the minds of the leaders — as was the case at last year's session.

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist who was sworn in on June 30 after the first democratic elections in the country's modern history, will be addressing the 193-member assembly for the first time on Wednesday. So too will Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who took office in February following more than a year of political turmoil and is now trying to steer the country's transition to democracy.

Last year, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas stole the spotlight with his submission of an application for Palestine to become the 194th member state of the United Nations. The United States, Israel's closest ally, made clear that it would veto any application until the Palestinians and Israelis negotiate an end to their decades-long conflict.

So Abbas is expected to come to the General Assembly on Thursday with a more modest proposal — to upgrade Palestine's current status as a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state — but likely putting off the date for submission of a resolution to the assembly, where there are no vetoes, until after the U.S. presidential election in November.

The Palestinians expect overwhelming support from the assembly for the enhanced U.N. status, which they hope will give broad international legitimacy to the pre-1967 lines as Palestine's border and grant them access to U.N. agencies and possibly the International Criminal Court.

With no sign of an end to the Security Council's paralysis over Syria, Wittig said Germany chose to focus the council's ministerial session Wednesday on something new and positive in the Mideast — "the emergence of the Arab League as a regional actor that has proved to be essential for conflict resolution."

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