PRESS BRIEFING
BY MONICA GRAYLEY,
SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY
PRESIDENT DENNIS FRANCIS
United Nations Headquarters, New York
13 December 2023
Video: http://tinyurl.com/mr7ykkz8
Good afternoon, everyone!
PRESIDENT FRANCIS VIEWS OUTCOME OF COP28 AS “MOVEMENT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION”
The President of the General Assembly, Mr. Dennis Francis, has described the outcome 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) as a “movement in the right direction.”
The PGA believes that the result achieved in the United Arab Emirates – a transition “away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner” over the next decade – represents a compromise that must continue, in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
President Francis firmly believes that the responsibility for climate action lies not only with Member States or Governments but with all sectors – the private sector, the public sector, and every citizen – to ensure that the climate, “does not become the
biggest threat and danger to the long-term existence of civilization and to the planet itself.”
GA TO CONTINUE DEBATE ON EMERGENCY SPECIAL SESSION ON FRIDAY
Following the adoption of Resolution ESS/10/22 yesterday in the General Assembly,
Member States will proceed with the debate in the Emergency Special Session, ESS, which started on 12 December, on Friday at 3 pm.
As of this morning, there were 80 speakers left to deliver remarks in the debate, including 11 Explanations of Vote.
In his speech at the GA Hall, President Francis encouraged cooperation among Member States with the same, singular goal in mind: to make peace for all.
More on our website www.un.org/pga/78
GA TO MARK 75th ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
On Friday, the PGA will convene an informal meeting of the General Assembly to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to hold the United Nations Human Rights Prize award ceremony on 15 December 2023 at 10 a.m., in the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters, New York.
Established by the General Assembly in 1966, the UN Human Rights Prize is awarded every five years for “outstanding achievements in the field of human rights.” Previous recipients have included Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Eleanor Roosevelt, Malala Yousafzai, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The recipients of the 2023 Prize were chosen by a Special Committee from more than 400 nominations received from Member States, the UN system, and civil society. The winners were announced on 20 July 2023.
This year’s recipients are: the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, based in Belarus; Julienne Lusenge from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Amman Center for Human Rights Studies from Jordan; Julio Pereyra from Uruguay and the Global Coalition of civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, social movements and local communities for the universal recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Further details on the 2023 Human Rights Prize recipients can be found here:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1138957
On the same occasion, the President of the General Assembly, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the United States, will organize a short commemorative event to announce the renovation of the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial at the North-East corner of the United Nations Garden.
You will get more information as soon as we finish this briefing.
Tomorrow, we will not brief from here. We will be back on Friday.
This is everything for today, do you have anything else or any questions?
END.
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