PRESS BRIEFING BY REEM ABAZA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TIJJANI MUHAMMAD-BANDE
International Day against nuclear testing
Tomorrow, Saturday, is the International Day against Nuclear Tests. In a virtual event on Wednesday to commemorate the day, The President of the General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande emphasized that no one wins in a nuclear war and pointed out that any use of nuclear weapons would be a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe.
The President called on everyone everywhere to support the ban on nuclear tests, adding that the event is a reminder that “we need to be more resolute in the pursuit of our shared objectives….As we mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, nuclear disarmament remains as important as ever and must be our ultimate goal. Achieving a nuclear weapons-free world is a universal aspiration for ensuring peace and international security.”
The full statement is on our website.
GA 31st Special Session
You recall that the 31st special session of the General Assembly on the COVID-19 pandemic opened in July. The General Assembly has yet to decide on modalities for substantive discussion on the topic of the special session, including its date, and any other matters concerning the organization of the session.
Because these matters will require more time for consultations, in his capacity as President of the special session Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande placed under silence procedure, until Monday at noon, a draft decision suggesting that effective upon the opening of the 75th session, the President, Vice-Presidents and Chairpersons of the Main Committees of the thirty-first special session shall be the same as those of the seventy-fifth regular session.
The President also circulated a letter from Mr. Yashar T. Aliyev, Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan, and Ms. Louise Blais, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada, the co-facilitators overseeing the consultations on the modalities for the organisation of the special session.
The letter conveys the zero-draft resolution on the modalities for the including the scope, format, date and outcome.
The co-facilitators invited the Membership to the first informal virtual consultation on the draft resolution on Monday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00.
Security Council Reform
Under silence procedure until Monday at 5 p.m., the President placed a draft decision on the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council.
According to the draft, the GA would decide to immediately continue the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in informal plenary of the General Assembly at its 75th session, building on the informal meetings held during its seventy-fourth session.
More info on the draft decision.
Updates on the website
This week, we’ve published, on the PGA’s website, the concept note of the high-level meeting on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijin+25) which will be held on Thursday, 1 October, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This high-level meeting will be convened primarily in a virtual format.
On the technical side, the President circulated a letter from the Secretariat regarding the Guidelines for Pre-recorded Statements for the High-level meetings of the General Assembly in September. The note is on our website, if you’d like to check it out.
Security Council Report
On Monday, the President will convene a virtual informal meeting of the General Assembly for the consideration of the Annual Report of the Security Council by Member States.
After the meeting, the President will circulate a compilation of the statements delivered at the debate. This compilation will also be forwarded to the President of the Security Council.
Spokesperson for PGA75
You may know already, but I want to share here. It gives me great pleasure to inform you that my colleague Brenden Varma, of DGC, will serve as the Spokesperson for the President of the 75th session. Brenden was the Spokesperson for the President of the 72nd session of the General Assembly.
