PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

United Nations Headquarters, New York

20 October 2020

 

UNITED NATIONS DAY CEREMONY TO HIGHLIGHT U.N. VOICES FROM THE FIELD

  • Yesterday evening, the President sent Member States an invitation letter to the United Nations Day commemoration ceremony, which will be held this Monday, 26 October, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., in the General Assembly Hall.
  • The observance ceremony will highlight UN voices from the field and insiders’ perspectives on the UN’s work and the future of the organization. Following a short opening segment, there will be a solemn moment to symbolically renew commitment to the UN Charter.
  • There will also be a short interactive debate moderated by the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and featuring several UN personnel of different backgrounds and levels of field experience.
  • Asked how much of the UN Day ceremony would be in-person and how much would be virtual, the Spokesperson said this would be an in-person event, featuring in-person statements in the opening segment by the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Presidents of the Security Council and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Noting that there would be some video presentations, he added that the programme would hopefully be finalized later today, so that it could be shared publicly.

HIGH-LEVEL 75TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING TO RESUME ON 26 OCTOBER

  • The High-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations will also take place this Monday, 26 October, immediately after the United Nations Day observance ceremony.
  • Currently, there are 68 speakers on the list – from Member States, observer States and observers.

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH AMBASSADORS, DISCUSSES SPECIAL SESSION ON COVID-19

  • Today, the President has a number of bilateral meetings. He is meeting separately with the Permanent Representatives of Ukraine, Guyana, Cyprus and Ecuador.
  • This afternoon, he will also be meeting with the co-facilitators of the General Assembly’s special session on COVID-19. They are the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan and the Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada.
  • The co-facilitators will brief the President on progress made during the last three rounds of informal consultations – as well as next steps.