PRESS BRIEFING BY REEM ABAZA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TIJJANI MUHAMMAD-BANDE

Hiroshima/Nagasaki

On the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the President of the General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said that this stain in our world’s history demonstrates that there is no winner in a nuclear war. The President called for the re-commitment to nuclear disarmament, adding that there will never be a justification for the decimation caused by nuclear weapons.

Mr. Muhammad-Bande said that the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons is a milestone agreement in the field of Nuclear disarmament. He commended Member States who have already signed and ratified the Treaty. The President said “with forty Member States onboard, we are fast approaching the requisite number for the Treaty to come into force, and we cannot afford to slow our pace now.” He called on all Member States to sign and ratify the Treaty.

The video message is posted on the PGA’s website: un.org/pga/74

Lebanon

I’d like to share again that the President, on Tuesday, extended his deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. Mr. Muhammad-Bande reiterated his solidarity with Lebanon during this difficult time.

Town Hall

As planning continues for an orderly conclusion of the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly and for the High-level Week of the seventy-fifth session, the President of the General Assembly has invited the Membership to a virtual town hall meeting on Friday, at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss pertinent issues and interface with the Secretariat in order to inform the planning.

ASEAN

Tomorrow, Friday, the President will be speaking at a virtual commemoration event of the ASEAN Day. He is expected to talk about the partnership and shared goals between the UN and ASEAN and about the important roles of regional organisations.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Myanmar

I’d like to give you a quick overview about newly announced events that will be convened in the next few weeks.

In accordance to General Assembly resolution on, “The Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar” The President will convene a virtual informal meeting to enable the Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Myammar, to brief the General Assembly on Friday, 14 August, at 10:00 a.m.

Nuclear Tests

The President will convene a virtual informal meeting on Wednesday 26 August to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The meeting will be devoted to enhancing public awareness and education about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Youth Plenary

On September 9, the General Assembly will convene the UN75 Youth Plenary from 10 am to 1 pm. The Youth Plenary will provide a valuable platform to capture ideas and solutions from young people for the Decade of Action and Delivery to implement the Sustainable Development Goal and galvanise support for multilateralism.

The event will designate youth representatives, who will address the high-level event on September 21 under the theme: “The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism”