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OTTAWA – More than a dozen former Canadian ministers, senior diplomats and others are calling on the federal Conservatives to re-engage with, and help fix, the United Nations, even as Prime Minister Stephen Harper prepares to skip another opportunity to address the world body this month.

The prime minister’s office has confirmed Harper will be in New York next week, where world leaders will be gathering to speak during the opening of the UN’s 68th General Assembly.

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However, although Harper will be in the city from Tuesday to Thursday, he will not be one of the dozens of leaders appearing at the podium.

Rather, the prime minister will attend a side event at the UN on maternal and child health, and participate in a discussion hosted by the Canadian-American Business Council and a roundtable of business leaders.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will deliver Canada’s remarks on Sept. 30, after all world leaders who want to speak have done so, and when much of the world’s attention has turned elsewhere.