GENERAL DEBATE WRAP-UP
For the General Debate, a total of 195 speakers participated, including the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union. Uzbekistan was the only country that did not speak. Among the speakers, there were 82 Heads of State and 43 Heads of Government.
There were 16 women speakers, which was 8.2 per cent only of all the speakers, and that is slightly lower than last year, when we had 19 women speakers or about 9.8 per cent. To put matters into perspective, on the first day of the General Debate, we had two female Heads of State and one Head of Government, compared to 29 male Heads of State and five male Heads of Government.
The longest speech at the General Debate was 50 minutes by Pakistan and the shortest speech was by Rwanda.
We also had the Climate Action Summit and six other major meetings at the UN during the time of the General Debate. In addition, from 23 through 30 September, 1,674 bilateral meetings were held at the UN. And, as of 30 September, 566 other meetings, including those of regional groups and UN system entities, were held during the high-level debate. And, for our part, we issued 137 readout form the Secretary-General’s bilateral meetings.
 
CLIMATE
In an op-ed published today in various media around the world, the Secretary-General stressed that, while we have a long way to go, the climate movement has begun. Young people, leaders in business, finance, governments and civil society are mobilizing and acting, as was seen in the lead-up to and during the Climate Action Summit last week.
The Secretary-General highlighted some of the commitments made at the Summit, which include more than 70 countries committing to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as well as their intention to boost their national plans under the Paris Agreement by 2020.
He said that actions announced were all important but not sufficient, and added that he will continue to encourage leaders to do much more and drive green economic solutions around the world.
 
DIOGO FREITAS DO AMARAL
In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General expressed his deep sadness on the death of Professor Diogo Freitas do Amaral from Portugal, as he was a renowned jurist and scholar and a brilliant politician who wholly dedicated his life to public service. He also served as President of the 50th Session of the General Assembly.
The Secretary-General also sent his sincere condolences to his wife and all his family.
 
IRAQ
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq met with a number of protesters in Baghdad last night and reiterated her call for calm, emphasizing the importance of a direct dialogue between the people on the street and Iraq’s leadership.
She said that the protesters’ demands for economic reforms, jobs, reliable public services, accountability, prudent and impartial governance are legitimate and longstanding.  
The Special Representative urged the authorities to exercise maximum restraint in the handling of the protests and to give peaceful protesters space to freely speak their minds, in keeping with the law.
The situation is limiting humanitarian workers’ ability to operate and provide assistance outside of Baghdad. An estimated 6.7 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance in 2019.
 
HAITI
We are continuing to follow very closely the situation in Haiti.
We continue to encourage all actors to refrain from violence, respect human rights, and allow the normal functioning of hospitals and emergency services, as well as the work of the humanitarians who are assisting the most vulnerable populations.
 
MALI
In Mali, Malian soldiers were killed and wounded in attacks that took place at the beginning of the week.
The UN peacekeeping mission there provided support to the national authorities yesterday by transporting additional Malian troops to reinforce security in Boulekessi, the site of one of the attacks.
The Mission also helped with the medical evacuation of wounded Malian soldiers.
 
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of the Department of Peace Operations, is scheduled to arrive in Bangui in the Central African Republic tomorrow for a joint high-level mission. He will be joined by the African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, and the European Union’s Director General of African Affairs, Koen Vervaeke.
They will hold meetings with authorities, civil society and others to assess the implementation of the peace agreement. They are also scheduled to travel to Birao, where recent clashes there have led to the displacement of over 20,000 people.
This is the second high-level joint mission to take place since the peace agreement was signed in February.
 
SECURITY COUNCIL
At the Security Council, the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Huang Xia, said the region is taking positive steps towards stability that should be fully supported by the international community.
In his briefing to Council members, he stressed that reinforcing regional cooperation and development programmes will be essential to tackle the root causes of instability and to allow the population to benefit from the region’s resources.
He pointed out that some of the numerous challenges that need to be addressed, including the illicit exploitation of resources and activities of local and foreign armed groups in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leading to forced displacements of thousands of people.
He added that, even if the military option remains crucial to address the threat of armed groups, complementary programs must be put in place, with the support of the international community, to facilitate the voluntary disarmament, repatriation and reintegration of these groups in their country of origin, as well as impacted communities. In addition, cross-border projects to generate jobs for young people are needed.
The Security Council is also holdings meetings today related to Libya, Sudan and South Sudan.
 
SOMALIA
On Somalia, a two-day UN-backed forum wrapped up in Mogadishu yesterday, with participants agreeing on the way for to address remaining challenges together.
International partners of the Somalia Partnership Forum recognized Somalia’s achievements and commended the country’s leadership for progress made in implementing reforms such as improved public financial management and delivering of social services.
The Forum agreed on a framework to tackle challenges such as generating economic growth, fighting Al Shabaab and responding to the humanitarian crisis.
 
DJIBOUTI
As we mentioned earlier this week, Ursula Mueller, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, is visiting Djibouti to draw attention to the effects of climate change and its humanitarian impact in the country and the region.
Ms. Mueller underlined that, to address the needs of the most vulnerable in Djibouti, humanitarian aid must be sustained but also complemented by development initiatives to tackle the root causes of suffering, including finding durable solutions for refugees and migrants.
Countries like Djibouti also suffer the most from climate change, while contributing to it the least, and sustainable initiatives to relieve climate shocks must be implemented.
 
AFGHANISTAN
In a new report issued on the impact of conflict on children in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General said he is deeply disturbed by the scale, severity and recurrence of grave violations endured by boys and girls.
Between 2015 and the end of 2018, more than 12,000 children have been verified killed or maimed in Afghanistan.
The recruitment of children, mostly by armed groups, including the Taliban and Da’esh, continued to be documented, as were over 800 attacks on schools and hospitals.
 
FOOD PRICE INDEX
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that global food prices were steady this month.
The latest FAO Food Price Index averaged 170 points, virtually unchanged from August and 3.3 per cent higher than in the same month in 2018. FAO said lower sugar prices were offset by increased quotations for vegetable oils and meat.
 
NIGERIA
Twenty-three boys and two girls were released today from Nigerian Army administrative custody after being cleared of suspected ties with armed groups, according to UNICEF.
Since 2016, a total of 2,499 people including 1,627 children have been cleared of association with non-state armed groups.