<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Transcript\u00a0of the Press Briefing by the Spokesperson of the President of the UN General Assembly\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n (Wednesday, 3 September 2025)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following is a near-verbatim transcript\u00a0of today\u2019s briefing.<\/p>\n Good afternoon, everyone<\/p>\n This is my last briefing as the Spokesperson for the President of the 79th\u00a0session of the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Recent natural disasters<\/strong><\/p>\n First, on the recent natural disasters \u2013 the earthquake in Afghanistan, the landslides in Sudan and the flash floods in India and Pakistan, the\u00a0President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang \u00a0extends his deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and expresses his solidarity with the peoples and Governments of these nations as they respond to these disasters.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace<\/strong><\/p>\n At the High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace which took place yesterday under the theme\u00a0 \u201cEmpowering Youth for a Culture of Peace\u201d, the President stated that young people are not passive beneficiaries of peace. They are leaders, innovators and agents of change. Empowering them is one of the most effective ways, he says, to ensure that a culture of peace takes root in every society and endures across generations.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests<\/strong><\/p>\n The High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests took place this morning. The President remarked that we had made a promise last year in the Pact for the Future to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons. He added that we must continue on the path that we started in 1996 \u2013 the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty – and renew our determination to prohibit nuclear testing as a first and important step toward nuclear disarmament.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Informal ad hoc working group on Mandate Implementation Review<\/strong><\/p>\n At its plenary meeting yesterday, the General Assembly decided to establish an informal ad hoc working group to consider the Secretary-General’s report on the Mandate Implementation Review as part of the UN80 Initiative. The President appointed Permanent Representative of New Zealand, H.E. Ms. Carolyn Schwalger and Permanent Representative of Jamaica H.E. Mr. Brian Wallace to co-chair the working group with the aim of concluding the work by March 2026.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As you know, there will be the annual debate on the situation in Ukraine tomorrow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Additionally, a number of resolutions will be adopted on Friday.<\/strong>\u00a0These include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And as I close, while this year was certainly challenging, the 79th session of the UN General Assembly demonstrated a clear commitment to advancing the three pillars of the UN: peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development, for example: highlighting the impact of the illicit flow of small arms on sustainable development, stressing the urgent need for international humanitarian law to be respected and \u00a0charting a path forward for the global governance of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n On a personal note,\u00a0first of all, I would like to express my thanks to all Correspondents for allowing me to serve you – as best as I could this past year. It has truly been a rewarding experience.<\/p>\n Thanks to Ms. Melissa Fleming, the Head of the UN Department of Global Communications, for affording me this privilege. And to colleagues across DGC who were extremely supportive.<\/p>\n I have to thank Stephane and his team who were always available and always helpful. You are the real deal.<\/p>\n I would also like to express my gratitude to the Deputy Chef de Cabinet Blanca Montejo for her willingness to think outside the box. This allowed us to launch the Highlights at the UN General Assembly \u2013 a weekly snapshot of the work being done at the GA – We were also able to organise a press briefing on the reform of the UN Security Council \u00a0– thanks to the kind participation of the Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the UN, H.E. Mr. Tareq AlBanai in his role as Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform. And we succeeded in streamlining the dissemination of our media content.<\/p>\n When I say \u201cwe\u201d, allow me to thank Ms. Mariam Shaikh, who was more than a media advisor and who I will miss greatly.<\/p>\n Questions and Responses<\/strong><\/p>\n Question<\/strong>: Thanks for doing such a wonderful job this year and for always being available to help correspondents with many, many questions. And I can’t leave without a final question. Has there been any discussion at all of possibly moving the summit meeting on the two-state solution of the Palestinian issue from New York to Geneva because of the visa ban against many top Palestinian officials?<\/p>\n Response<\/strong>: No, that I’m not aware of in terms of moving the meeting. In fact, I don’t have a lot of details on what’s happening with regard to the meeting that should be scheduled for the 22nd of September.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Question<\/strong>: Do you have an updated version of the speakers list for UNGA?<\/p>\n Response<\/strong>: We should be able to share that with you by the end of the week<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Media Contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n Sharon Birch, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, Tel: +1 212 963 0564, M: +1 646 342 5873, Email: birchs@un.org<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser\/ Social and Digital Media\/Media Relations, M: +1 917 361 4990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n <\/p>\n More Information and Updates\u00a0: Website<\/a><\/u>: \u00a0YouTube: <\/a><\/u>\u00a0X (Twitter):<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/u>: \u00a0LinkedIn: <\/a><\/u>\u00a0Photo Repository<\/a><\/u>: Bluesky<\/a><\/u>; Weekly Highlights<\/a>: Resolutions of the 79th Session \u2013 UN General Assembly<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n\n