Making the United Nations Relevant to all PeoplePRESS BRIEFING BY MONICA GRAYLEY, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MARÍA FERNANDA ESPINOSA
Good afternoon, everyone!
Hope all is well with you.
PRESIDENT ESPINOSA TRAVELS TO COP24 IN POLAND
Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa will travel this afternoon to Katowice, Poland, to attend the opening of the UN Conference on Climate Change, COP24.
Global leaders, UN officials and civil society representatives will gather in Poland to finalize the Paris Agreement Work Programme, the so-called “Rulebook” on how to implement, finance and measure climate action.
The President of the General Assembly will call for acceleration of action on climate change. Ms. Espinosa will meet the President of Poland, H.E. Andrzej Duda, as well as several other Heads of State and Government, and UN officials.
The PGA will also meet university students and deliver closing remarks at the “Conference on Youth”, and hold a discussion with YOUNGO, the official youth constituency of the UNFCCC.
The official delegation includes a senior adviser, a speechwriter and her personal assistant. All travel costs will be covered by the regular budget of the Office of the PGA’s.
Ms. Espinosa will be in Katowice until 3 December, when she returns to New York.
WORLD AIDS DAY
On World AIDS Day, which will be marked tomorrow, 1 December: the PGA wants to draw the attention of international leaders and citizens to the importance of dedicated action to achieve the UNAIDS goals of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public threat by 2030. This year’s theme for World AIDS Day, which will be marking its 30th anniversary, is “Know your status”. According to UNAIDS, about 75% of people leaving with HIV today, know their status. In 2017, there were 36.9 million people leaving with HIV, and 21.7 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy.
PGA’s AGENDA
On the agenda: President Espinosa took part in a meeting on Friends of Children and the Sustainable Development Goals at UNICEF this morning. She is now chairing the meeting on the Question of Palestine Item 39, and the situation in the Middle East, Item 38. As of this morning, 12 countries were inscribed to speak at the General Assembly Hall. This afternoon, Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa will travel to Poland.
STAKEOUT ON GLOBAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST PLASTIC POLLUTION ON 4 DECEMBER AT 11 AM
And finally: You are all invited to a stakeout on Tuesday, 4 December, at 11 am, in front of the PGA’s Office on the launch of the Global Campaign against Plastic Pollution. The PGA and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, H.E. Gaston Browne, and a Representative of Norway, will be there to answer your questions.
This is all from us today. I am now happy to take your questions.
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