One day before the opening of the annual U.N. General Assembly debate, world leaders gathered in New York for a high-level meeting to discuss the future of Libya. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon formally welcomed the new Libyan government to the United Nations after the world body accepted the National Transitional Council as the legitimate authority in Libya last week.
Flanked by the new Libyan and United Nations flags, the president of Libya's National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said he believes that Gaddafi remains in Libya and still possesses considerable resources. Jalil also reminded the U.N. member states that Libya is in desperate need of financial resources to begin the country's reconstruction.
"Today, the Libyan people are writing a new chapter," President Obama said at the beginning of the conference. "It will take time to build a new Libya.
"After decades of iron rule by one man, it will take time to build the institutions needed for a democratic Libya. I'm sure there will be days of frustration," the president continued. "But if we learned anything these many months, it is this -- do not underestimate the aspiration and will of the Libyan people."
British Foreign Minister William Hague delivered a stark warning to Gaddafi and his loyalists. "Gaddafi's time is up," Hague said. "The Libyan people can be proud of what they have achieved, and we can be proud on what we have done to help them."
On Wednesday, Brazilian President Dilma Roussef will open the annual debate of the United Nation's General Assembly -- the conference that brings together all of the organization's member states. Palestinian leaders are expected to file their claim to be recognized as a new U.N. state on Friday.