UN to hold first virtual General Assembly in its 75 years

COVID-19: World leaders to stay at home, in first ‘virtual’ UN General Assembly

The 75th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session, begins on 15 September and this year, due to the ongoing global pandemic, it will be unlike any other in the organization’s three quarters of a century of existence

This year each Member State, Observer State, and the European Union, was invited to submit a pre-recorded video, delivered by its designated high-level official, which will be played in the General Assembly Hall, and  the videos will be introduced by a representative of each State, who will be physically present. 

The same procedure will apply for a series of special high-level sessions scheduled to take place, including a commemoration of the landmark 75th anniversary of the United Nations; a summit on biodiversity; and a meeting to commemorate, and promote, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

It’s expected that the Secretary-General will address, in person, the High-Level event to mark the 75th anniversary in the GA Hall

‘Transforming the world’ through Sustainable Development

At the 75th GA session, the SDGs will be put under the spotlight in what is being described as a “first of its kind 30-minute global broadcast”, created by writer and director, and SDG advocate, Richard Curtis, which will take audiences across the world “on a dynamic exploration of the times we live in, the multiple tipping points our planet faces, and the interventions that could transform our world” up to 2030, when, it’s hoped, the SDG targets will be met.

This high-level meeting of the General Assembly will focus on the overall theme, ‘Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As decided by the UNGA in July 2020, this event will take place on 1 October 2020. 

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