UN News - General Debate kicks off
UN News Daily #UNGA Guide: General Debate kicks off, peacekeeping, human rights for all and South-Sudan
On the occasion of the
73rd General Assembly, the UN is hosting a plethora of
events with some of the world’s most prominent leaders and
experts, to set the pace on dozens of critical global
topics. To help you navigate and make sure you don’t miss
out on anything important, here’s the second of our daily
UN News guides to what’s going on.
Here’s
what you need to know for Tuesday 25
September:
(Please note: all timings are
based on the New York time zone, Eastern Daylight Time, or
EDT)
World leaders take the stage
• On this first day
of the General Debate, 36 Heads of State and
Government are scheduled to address the General Assembly on
Tuesday, including the Presidents of Brazil, the United
States, Ecuador, Turkey, France and Nigeria, the King of
Jordan, the Supreme Leader of Iran and the United
Kingdom’s Prime Minister. The theme this year is Making
the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership
and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and
sustainable societies. The General Debate runs
every day except for Sunday, from 9
am to 9 pm roughly, until 1 October, and you can watch it all
live on UN Web TV.
•
Mobilising for
peacekeeping
• In March, UN Secretary-General António Guterres
launched “Action for Peacekeeping”–
or “A4P” as we call it here in the hallways of the UN.
The initiative calls for key stakeholders to renew their
collective engagement through the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN
Peacekeeping Operations. On Tuesday, over 100 Member
States will attend a high-level event, chaired by the UN
chief, to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of
peacekeeping operations and define the best way forward, to
achieve excellence. It will start run from 3 pm to 7
pm, can be watched live here, and followed on
Twitter using #A4P.
•
Meanwhile, on
the sustainable development front…
• Did you
know that 500 billion plastics bags are used each year? That
1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute? Learn
about the different ways in which governments are Fighting Plastic Pollution at
4pm thanks to the live broadcast of the
event on UN
Web TV.
•
• As you use your laptop or
smartphone to read this guide, join via webcast the UN at 11:30
am in its quest to determine whether the “digital revolution” is the curse or the
cure in our attempt to leave no one behind.
Follow and participate in the global discussion with #Tech2030.
•
• The SDG Media Zone (#SDGLive) continues with, among other
world-class speakers, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Leymah
Gbowee and Kailash Satyarth kicking off the festivities of
the day at 10 am. You can watch everything
as it happens but, for future reference, all videos from
“The Zone” are later posted here.
•
Protecting the
rights of the most vulnerable
• At 4
pm, watch live French President Emmanuel
Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and UK Prime
Minister Theresa May for “12 years to break barriers and leave no girl
behind: Countdown to 2030.”
•
• At
the same time, a high-level event will
examine issues of poverty and the right to legal
representation surrounding the death
penalty.
•
• And, at 4:30
pm, the spotlight is on Violence against LGBTI
individuals, with a special focus on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Newly
appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle
Bachelet, will be among the distinguished panel
members.
•
The humanitarian
lens
• Close to six years of conflict means
South
Sudan is facing devastating levels of
humanitarian need. The event will bring the voices of
conflict-affected South-Sudanese women, children and men to
UN headquarters, and examine the challenges and successes of
the international response, with a call for continued
support. It will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm
and will be livestreamed.
•
• If you
happen to be in New York and able to visit UN Headquarters,
don’t miss the exhibit marking the 25th
anniversary of the rapid response mechanism UNDAC
(…basically they are the relief A-team which deploys
within 24 hours after natural disasters strike, to ensure
that relief reaches those affected as soon as possible). The
installation is located in the North Lawn of UN compound.
And if you’re not in New York, this
should almost do the trick.
•
The above is only
a curated selection of high profile events. For a
comprehensive list of everything that you can follow
remotely, this calendar should help.
>>> Find all of UN News’ coverage of the UN 73rd session of the General Assembly neatly kept here.