PRESS BRIEFING BY REEM ABAZA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TIJJANI MUHAMMAD-BANDE
Multi-stakeholder Hearing
The President of the General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, with the support of UN Women, opened this morning the Multi-Stakeholder Hearing in preparation for the High-Level Meeting on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, which will take place in the Fall.
The President said that this discussion offers an opportunity to listen to, and learn from, voices of change which is crucial in the efforts to accelerate the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Mr. Muhammad-Bande said that after its adoption 25 years ago, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains the most comprehensive and transformative global agenda for the achievement of gender equality.
He pointed out that progress has been made, however, in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 schools have closed and essential resources for women’s health have been redirected towards the pandemic response.
The President emphasized that “we simply cannot allow the coronavirus to threaten the lives and future of women. The needs of women and girls must be central to both rapid-response and long-term recovery planning.”
The first segment of the event, that runs until 2 pm, includes: Gender equality leaders’ dialogue followed by an interactive panel discussion on “Women’s and girls’ voices, participation and leadership” and an interactive panel discussion on “Achieving gender equality is everyone’s responsibility”.
There will be a break from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., then the second segment of the event will run from 3 to 5. It will include a panel discussion on “Gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment: drivers for sustainable development and “A conversation about the future”, moderated by the Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, before the closing segment.
The event is being streamed live on webtv.un.org and its social media.
Click here for the full statement.
Mandela International Day
In the General Assembly commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day yesterday, the President said that this Day provides us with a moment to reflect upon the contribution of Mandela to our world, and to re-affirm our collective commitment to eradicate racism and racial discrimination in every context.
He added that “Mandela provided the world with a moral compass throughout his life: demonstrating his uncompromising commitment to humanity through his actions and unwavering commitment to freedom, justice, peace and human rights. His efforts and sacrifice paved the way for the liberation and democratization of South Africa, heralding a new era of hope for communities around the world.”
The statement is on our website.
Omnibus draft resolution
The President circulated a letter from the co-coordinators for the General Assembly on COVID-19-related initiatives: The Permanent Representatives of Afghanistan and Croatia to the United Nations.
The letter conveys the revised version of the proposed draft omnibus resolution on the COVID-19 pandemic, and a compendium outlining the contributions received from Member States and groups after the last round of consultations.
The co-coordinators also invited Member States to a virtual town hall meeting on Friday at 10:00 a.m.
Upcoming
On Thursday, The President of the General Assembly Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande will participate in a virtual High-Level event on “Building Back Better: Risk informed COVID-19 Recovery and Rehabilitation and Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change Related Disasters in Africa and the Caribbean”.
