NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Monday, 26 September 2022
UNGA DEBATE
Starting with the General Debate.
Today is the sixth and last day of the debate. We expect the President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, to give closing remarks later this afternoon, still as part of the morning session that ends at 3PM.
In terms of the figures.
The President will give final figures. But if the schedule holds, this UNGA will have heard from 190 Member States.
Of those, 76 were at the level of Heads of State; 50 Heads of Governments; four Vice-Presidents; five deputy Prime Ministers; 48 Ministers and 7 heads of delegation.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Today is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
This morning, the President opened the high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the Day.
He noted that despite affirmation from the five nuclear-weapon states that a nuclear war must never be fought, tensions are high.
President Kőrösi said that the war in Ukraine has raised credible risks of a global nuclear disaster.
Quote “I am particularly appalled by the recurring, thinly veiled threats of nuclear strikes. Tactical strikes, it is often added, but we all know that such a conflict would never stay at the tactical level.”
He added that achieving a world free of nuclear weapons is a top UN disarmament priority.
He urged countries to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, noting that 174 Member States have done so. But 8 Member States have yet to ratify the Treaty.
The President ended his remarks by quoting Albert Einstein: I don’t know what weapons WWIII would be fought with, but I know that the war after that will be fought with stones and sticks.
The President will again address the High-level event this evening, when he delivers closing remarks.
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked about the Credential Committee. The Spokesperson said that there were no updates on the Credentials Committee.
