NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS BY PAULINA KUBIAK GREER,
SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID
United Nations Headquarters, New York

BAHRAIN

The President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid is in Bahrain today, as part of a three-day goodwill visit to the country.

His visit has been substantive. So far, he has met with His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

He also had meetings with the Foreign Minister, as well as the Speaker of the Council of Representatives.

The President delivered a lecture on multilateralism and met with students at the Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa’s Academy for Diplomatic Studies.

During the weekend, he visited with the UN Country Office and met with the Resident Coordinator Mohamed El Zarkani.

You have readouts of all of these meetings.

 

ARTICLE 19

 The General Assembly this morning continued its debate on the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization.

Before Member States resumed, the General Assembly took note that Guinea, Iran and Vanuatu have made the payments necessary to reduce their arrears below the amounts specified in Article 19 of the Charter. This means that they can resume voting in the General Assembly.

 

EDUCATION

And turning to todays’ International Day of Education.

This year’s theme is an opportunity to reflect on how COVID has impacted education, and challenges created for children and youth.

In his video message, President Shahid said nearly every child has suffered as a result of being cut off and isolated.

As we go forward, “knowledge, education and learning need to be reimagined,” he said.

You have the full text in your inboxes and online.

Twitter https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1485613418383958019

 

 QUESTIONS

 The Spokesperson was asked whether the President met with opposition leaders or political prisoners during his visit to Bahrain. The Spokesperson answered that the President is on a goodwill visit to Bahrain. He has a number of meetings with civil society groups, particularly with women’s groups. His focus during this visit is on vaccine equity, which is one of his rays or priorities for the Presidency of Hope.