76th UN General Assembly kicks off today with the annual general debate. Per tradition the President of Brazil is the first speaker followed by the USA, the host country.
The general debate can be followed live on UN Web TV here. It begins at 9 New York time – 3 PM Stockholm time, after the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization
In addition to the general debate the high-level week is marked by many bilateral meetings between individual leaders and government officials and senior UN officials.
Building resilience
Under the theme ‘Building Resilience through Hope’, and against the background of the COVID pandemic and global insecurity, the General Assembly’s opening will underscore the need for greater urgency and ambition to end the pandemic and ensure an equitable and green recovery and accelerated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to the General Debate, this year’s meeting will kick off a series of international UN conferences in 2021 that are expected to highlight action and solutions that will ignite the transformations needed to secure healthy, peaceful and prosperous lives for all. Further high-level events at UNGA will underscore these lead themes. They include the Food Systems Summit (September 23), the Security Council Debate on Climate and Security (September 23) and a High-Level Dialogue on Energy (September 24).