The high-level week of the 81st United Nations (UN) General Assembly session takes place amid deepening divisions between countries and increasing pressure on the multilateral system. General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh will preside under the theme: “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
The General Debate begins on September 22, bringing representatives from 193 UN Member States to the General Assembly podium. Speeches are expected to address national priorities, armed conflict, economic pressures, humanitarian emergencies, climate change, development and emerging technologies.
Hundreds of bilateral and multilateral meetings will also give leaders opportunities to engage partners, allies and rivals. The annual Sustainable Development Goals Moment takes place on September 18, focusing on progress towards the 17 goals adopted in 2015.
With fewer than five years until the 2030 deadline, leaders will consider practical measures to accelerate progress on poverty, hunger, education, clean water and energy access. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will convene a high-level meeting on climate action and the just transition on September 23.
Discussions will focus on renewable energy, climate finance for developing countries and support for communities already experiencing climate-related damage. A meeting on sea-level rise follows on September 24, addressing growing threats to small island developing states and low-lying coastal communities.
Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response will take centre stage on September 25. Leaders will consider lessons from COVID-19, including inequalities in access to vaccines, medicines and essential health resources.
The high-level week will also mark the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development and the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action against racism. A meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons will conclude the major events on September 29. “This year’s High-Level Week takes place at a moment when international cooperation is under strain,” the UN said.
Guterres recently appealed for renewed commitment to collective action.
“Not we the powerful. Not we the victorious. We the peoples, all of us, bound by a single conviction: that we are safer, stronger and more human when we stand together,” Guterres said.
The session will be the final General Assembly to begin during Guterres’ tenure. Guterres’ second term ends on December 31, 2026, with a successor scheduled to take office on January 1, 2027.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
