NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Monday, 19 September 2022
SDG MOMENT
The President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi took part in the SDG Moment.
He called the event a “yearly wake-up call”.
A time when we must finally get serious about saving the world.
The 17 Global Goals are our To-Do-List.
They must be the To-Do-List of all leaders in this room.
Among the specific proposals in his remarks – the President said Member States should renew their multilateral commitment on establishing a science support mechanism.
This would assist Member States in their efforts by means of providing transparent scientific indicators and validation for sustainable development.
President Kőrösi delivered the remarks in English, with portions in Arabic, French and Russian.
You have the full text in your inbox and online: https://www.un.org/pga/77/2022/09/19/sdg-moment-2022/
GA DEBATE
Turning to tomorrow.
President Kőrösi will open the General Debate, as is the custom.
He will outline his theme for the Presidency – which is solutions through solidarity, sustainability and science.
His will make the case that he is taking the mantle of the Presidency at a time when the world needs crisis management and transformation.
His speech will touch on Ukraine, the climate crisis, water – which we will hear a lot about ahead of next year’s UN Water Conference, the rule of law, human rights and cooperation with UN entities, civil society, youth and the science community, among others.
The speech will be delivered in English, with portions in Arabic, French and Russian.
An all-English and a language version is under embargo, and in your inbox.
SPEAKERS LIST/SPEECHES
The List of Speakers for Tuesday is available from UN Journal https://journal.un.org/en/new-york/meeting/officials/84482227-229b-41fe-71da-08da640cca61/2022-09-20 or eSpeakers https://espeakers.unmeetings.org/6320ae9f5ea20000120344dc13092022
The speeches are available online, and Stephane’s team shared the website https://gadebate.un.org/en.
UNGA WOMEN LEADERS PLATFORM
I wanted to draw your attention to an event taking place tomorrow – the UNGA Platform of Women Leaders.
The event is organized under the theme of “Transformative Solutions by Women Leaders to Today’s Interlinked Challenges”.
It’s an opportunity to highlight that women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making are crucial to addressing global priorities.
We expect several women Heads of State and Government to take part.
The gathering will be moderated by Helen Clark. This was just announced in the past hour.
Again, the event is Tuesday, 20 September, at 1:30PM in the Trusteeship.
It will be webcast live.
Please see MALU if you are interested in attending in-person.
https://www.un.org/pga/77/unga-platform-of-women-leaders/
BILATERALS
Since yesterday, President Kőrösi has been meeting with world leaders and senior officials from the international system.
He is expected to have meet with more than 50 Heads of State and Government by the time UNGA is done.
Rather than go through each one here, there will be readouts available on the PGA website, under a section being created called “readouts”.
Photos and videos from the meetings will be on the President’s social media accounts.
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked if comments by Iranian President Raisi about the Holocaust are a violation of the GA resolution that condemns denial and distortion of the Holocaust.
The Spokesperson wants to reiterate that GA resolution A/76/250, which was passed by consensus in January 2022, rejects and condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event. Under that resolution this would include intentional efforts to excuse or minimize the impact of the Holocaust or its principal elements and the gross minimization of the number of the victims of the Holocaust in contradiction to reliable sources. All Member States are urged by the said resolution to reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part.
