Also, diplomacy ought not to be equated necessarily with civility. Diplomats can be rude individually. Collectively, they may be even ruder.

Case in point: the exodus from the UN General Assembly hall minutes after President George W. Bush concluded his important address on what Iraq and the world body needed to do to avert a second round of the Gulf war. Of course, no delegate could compete with Bush in a contest for public attention, but aren't we always being reminded that in the UN all states are equal?

The annual debate in the General Assembly, for which presidents and prime ministers cross oceans, is a rare opportunity for those less equal than others to air their achievements and grouse their grievances. If the UN is really an organization of "We, the peoples," as it professes, every speaker is entitled to a substantial and respectful audience and ought not to be humiliated by the sight of row after row of empty seats.

The situation is often so bad that television camera operators keep their lenses focused on a speaker, lest a shot of all those unoccupied benches reach the audience back in the home country, damaging the VIP's credibility and a nation's reputation.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN's host in a way, addressed the General Assembly a day after Bush's appearance. Perhaps delegates had not checked the speakers list and were unaware that he would be speaking. Whatever the reason, there was considerable absenteeism. After what New York has gone through, with fears still that there may be more bad things to come, a large audience would have been a welcome display of interest, sympathy and support for the UN's home city.

It's highly unusual for a mayor to be invited to speak in the General Assembly, and Bloomberg was duly conscious of the honor, arranging for his mother, sister and daughter to be in the audience, along with several members of his administration as well as personal friends. They may have been surprised that the city's chief magistrate did not draw a bigger crowd. (It is to be hoped that Gillian Sorensen or Shashi Tharoor or another senior member of the UN secretariat explained that delegates surely intended no offense.)

Rudolph W. Giuliani received a heartier welcome last year, but that was soon after the tragedy of Sept. 11. Some have sought to explain the lukewarm response to Bloomberg as a reaction to the latest round of hostilities in an ongoing war between the city and the diplomatic and consular corps over (what else?) parking violations and unpaid fines. When the mayor alluded to this, there was some polite tittering in the audience, but many delegates still believe that the city government is insufficiently appreciative of the UN"s contribution to the New York region's economy or of the honor of hosting the organization. How else could New York uphold its claim to be capital of the world?

Secretary General Kofi Annan has made it a policy to promote cordial relations with Governor George Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg as well as with other leaders in state and city politics and in other sectors, public and private. "From my vantagepoint, New York City's relationship with the UN has never been better than it is today," the mayor said, in confirmation of the success of Annan's outreach.

Of course, not every citizen agrees with that. New Yorkers' tempers are frayed whenever the UN brings on a big show, streets are blocked, bus routes are changed and police escorts clear traffic lanes for visiting VIPs.

The value of the UN presence is estimated at between $3 billion and $4 billion a year, not to mention the thousands of jobs associated with it. It probably would not be a good idea for Annan to launch a publicity campaign that made these economic benefits a central point; the organization remains controversial enough for Bloomberg not to be tempted to beat the UN drum.

The week of Sept. 23, hopefully most of the visitors will have departed and the city have settled down again. Until the next time.