PRESS BRIEFING BY REEM ABAZA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TIJJANI MUHAMMAD-BANDE
Poverty Eradication
The President of the United Nations General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande convened, this week, a High-Level Meeting on Poverty Eradication where he launched an Alliance for this cause.
In his opening statement, the President said: Poverty is the most formidable obstacle to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a blot on humanity’s conscience.
He added that the Alliance for Poverty Eradication is like any other group of friends that champions various causes and it is indeed odd that while other causes, have groups promoting them, poverty eradication, the Number 1 Sustainable Development Goal, does not.
The President said that the Alliance can serve as a one-stop networking, information sharing and bridge-building centre. It should provide a mechanism for interrogating the poverty challenge from all angles. He added that there is no amount of time and attention given to poverty eradication that is too much.
Vesak Day
In his statement this morning in a virtual commemoration of the International Day of Vesak, the President pointed out that the observance of the Day, which takes place in the month of May, had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The President of the General Assembly said that “we are facing a global health crisis unlike any other in the 75-year history of the United Nations. In times of great anxiety, faith can be a significant source of comfort and community resilience. Buddhist teachings and guided practices, such as “give, even if you have a little”, can be a balm for those grappling with the pandemic today.”
The President added, “May this commemoration serves as occasion to remind ourselves of the importance of tolerance, mutual respect and understanding – that are enshrined in the Buddhist teachings.”
Education
In a video message to a virtual briefing organized by the group of friends of education and lifelong learning, the President of the General Assembly said that: when we celebrated this Group’s first anniversary on the International Day of Education, on 24 January, we did not anticipate that we would experience the biggest disruption to education in the history of our Organization.
The President pointed out that COVID-19 has resulted in unprecedented school and university closures, with over 1.6 billion learners experiencing disruption in education.
For the most vulnerable children, including girls and children with disabilities, and children in fragile contexts, the return to school is not guaranteed. The President added: We cannot lose a generation of learners.
He called on all Governments to mainstream education in their response to mitigate conflict, hunger, poverty and instability which weaken a child’s ability to learn, as we re-build and recover from COVID-19.
Mano River
In the virtual launch of the Mano River Union UN Group, the President said that he is confident that the launch will accelerate action and progress across all three pillars of the work in the United Nations: peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.
He said that the group seeks to enhance multilateral cooperation and promote better coordination on issues of common interest on the UN agenda.
In this 75th anniversary year of the United Nations, the President added that “there can be no greater tribute to multilateralism than this affirmation to the ideals of the founders of our Organization.”
