PRESS BRIEFING BY MONICA VILELLA GRAYLEY, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID

Good afternoon!

As you see, we have the screen up today as we would like to show you a video of the PGA and the team volunteering at a New York City Park in Queens, in a short while…

PGA and Team volunteer at NYC Park planting trees to celebrate UN Day

This morning, Mr. Abdulla Shahid and his team volunteered at Cunningham Park in Queens planting trees to celebrate United Nations Day.

The PGA said that – as a Maldivian – he knows well the concept of community and of depending on your neighbours.

The PGA explained this volunteering initiative before his High-Level Meeting on Delivering Climate Action on October 26, here in New York, and ahead of COP-26, in Glasgow, shows that everyone can play a role in climate action.

New York City Parks informed the PGA that this was “the very first official tree planting of the autumn season” and that Mr. Shahid and the team planted approximately 350 trees today.

Mr. Shahid said volunteering at Cunningham Park was about recognizing the principles of the UN and what drives us to do the work: equality, sustainability, peace and prosperity, giving back to our community; working across regional and cultural divides towards a common goal.

And here at the Headquarters, this evening at the GA Hall, President Abdulla Shahid will take part in the UN Day Concert under the theme: Building Back Together for Peace and Prosperity, which is being organized by the Department of Global Communications and the support of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea.

Mr. Shahid announces members of Advisory Group on Gender Equality

The GA President released a letter to Member States yesterday announcing the names of the 11 members of his Advisory Group on Gender Equality as well as two observers.

The PGA is grateful for the participation of H.E. Ms. Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN and co-chair of the Group of Friends on Gender Parity; H.E. Ms. Valentine Rugwabiza, the Ambassador of Rwanda, who also co-chairs the Group of Friends on Gender Parity; H.E. Mr. Jukka Salovaara, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN, who took part in the PGA’s Advisory Group on Gender Equality during the last GA session; H.E. Ms. Thilmeeza Hussain, Ambassador of Maldives to the UN and Special Envoy to the PGA; H.E. Ms. Egriselda Aracely González López, Permanent Representative of El Salvador and Co-coordinator of the Circle of Women Ambassadors; Ms. Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and Head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in New York; Ms. Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Ms. Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of UN Global Compact; the Honourable Patricia A. Torsney, Permanent Observer of the Inter-parliamentary Union and Dr. Soon-Young Yoon, UN Representative of the International Alliance of Women and Chair of the Board, Women’s Environment and Development Organization.

The two observers are: Ms. Catherine Pollard, USG for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance and Ms. Jayathma Wrickmanayake, the SG’s Envoy on Youth.

The Board will serve as an informal mechanism to facilitate critical thought and advice on gender issues and to help mainstream a gender perspective across the PGA’s priorities, initiatives as well as mandates for this session.  

The launch will take place on 28 October, next week.

PGA’s Agenda

Mr. Shahid started his day volunteering at Cunningham Park in Queens where he and his team planted about 350 trees.  This afternoon, he will meet with H.E. Mr. Dritan Abazović, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro.

The PGA will receive at his Office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, who is the UK Minister of State for South Asia, UN and the Commonwealth.

This evening, Mr. Shahid will speak at the UN Day Concert at the GA Hall and finish the day attending a dinner hosted by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations.

Hashtags: #UNPGA, #PresidencyOfHope #UNGA76 #Deliver4Equality

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