World leaders gather at UN in New York

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.

The UN Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven Sunday. The Secretary-General commended Sweden for its generous contribution and support to the Common Agenda. He expressed appreciation for Sweden’s sustained commitment to a renewed multilateralism and to the United Nations. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister also discussed preparations for COP26 and Stockholm+50, as well as developments in Afghanistan and other conflict situations.

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).