facebooktwittertelegramwhatsapp
copy short urlprintemail
+ A
A -
QT-Online
QNA
Doha
The General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which will run from September 21 until Sep 27, is the highlight of each new session of the General Assembly, and it begins a week after the official opening ceremony.
This General Debate is a global summit during which a large number of presidents and leaders of states and governments meet on the campus of the United Nations, where each leader stands on the platform of the General Assembly Hall to address an issue of their choosing before the globe.
His Highness the Amir of State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is participating in the meetings of the 76th session of the General Assembly, as His Highness will deliver a speech in the opening session of the General Debate on Tuesday. HH the Amir’s speech is expected to address the constants of the Qatari policy, and the state's stances towards the current most prominent local, Arab and international issues and files.
The participation of HH the Amir in the work of the new session of the international organization comes as an affirmation of Qatar's belief in the importance of the UN and its various bodies, as well as its lofty message to the international community, its stability and well-being, and the preservation of its rights without discrimination or exception.
The participation of HH the Amir in the work of this session also reflects His Highness' keenness to highlight the distinctive image of Qatar and its positions before international forums, as well as the state's keenness to participate in all international activities, dialogues and meetings, which aim primarily to consult and exchange opinions and points of view on issues, topics and files presented on the regional and international arenas.
In an indication of the relative recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the atmosphere of this year's session will be different from last year's session in terms of participation, as the participation will include a mixture of actual attendance by delivering speeches on the platform of the General Assembly, or virtual participation by delivering speeches virtually or via video recordings - which was the case in the previous session.
Eighty leaders are expected to participate in the activities of the new session in person, while about a third of the leaders of the 193 member states decided to deliver their speeches via video recordings.
The speeches of leaders and presidents before the General Assembly will focus on the most prominent current international crises and conflicts and issues of concern to the international community that require concerted efforts and mobilization of energies to confront them, foremost of which is the coronavirus pandemic and its various repercussions, in addition to the issue of climate change, and the fight against terrorism.
Climate change and dealing with the coronavirus pandemic are expected to top the list of issues and topics on the agenda of the new session of the General Assembly.
The White House announced that US President Joe Biden will directly deliver a speech to the participants in the General Assembly meeting, in his first visit to the United Nations Headquarters since his presidency.
American press sources reported that Biden plans to tell the General Assembly that he wants to vaccinate 70 percent of the world's population by September 2022. He will also invite rich countries to buy or donate one billion additional doses of vaccines and fund another $10 billion to prepare vaccines over the next year and a half.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most difficult periods the world has witnessed since World War II, as it deepened inequalities, destroyed economies, and plunged millions into extreme poverty.
In recent press statements, Guterres added that the time has come to alarm, warning that the world is on the edge of the abyss and moving in the wrong direction, referring to the conflicts that the world has witnessed during the past few months, and said that his message to the leaders participating in the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly is to "wake up, change course, unite" to confront the issues that contribute to the progress of mankind.
The UN Secretary-General stressed the need to accelerate the response to the pandemic, with vaccines, treatment, and equipment for all, to invest in human development, health care, nutrition, water, education, and to commit to bold climate goals during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, next November.
According to UN experts, biodiversity is deteriorating, that up to one million species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction, and experts have warned that nature is deteriorating faster than in human history. A decline often referred to as the sixth mass extinction, threatening the conditions of human existence on the planet, evident in the multiplication of disasters associated with the effects of climate change caused by human activities, such as storms, floods, droughts, and fires.
Guterres also stressed the need to recommit to UN human rights values, support the most vulnerable, and establish peace through dialogue and solidarity.
He called for a fair global vaccination plan, with the continued emergence of variables, which at some point could become resistant to current vaccinations, and said that "the problem is this virus is spreading like wildfire in the global south. It is mutating, it is changing and there is a risk that, at a certain moment, one of these mutations will bring a virus that can resist the vaccines that now are applied. And that day, nobody will be safe in the south and the north, not even in the countries where everybody was vaccinated." Guterres spoke about the lack of trust among the big powers, which was reflected in the difficulties faced by the UN Security Council to take appropriate decisions with various crises in the world, stressing the need to rebuild trust among those that have more influence in world affairs to be able to cooperate to unite the international community in addressing the crises that are multiplying now. He emphasized the need to have a strong and united Security Council to establish a serious dialogue among the big powers to find common ground.
Meanwhile, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives Abdulla Shahid, stressed that hope is absolutely necessary for the billions of people around the world who are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of the destruction and conflict, and said that the General Assembly, as the most representative body of the United Nations, was in an ideal position to articulate that hope. 
copy short url   Copy
20/09/2021
2433