PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

United Nations Headquarters, New York

2 December 2020

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RESIDENT TO OPEN LANDMARK SPECIAL SESSION ON COVID-19 TOMORROW

  • The President will convene the?General Assembly¡¯s?special session on COVID-19?tomorrow and Friday ¨C 3 and 4 December.
  • Following 1.5 million deaths, more than 62 million cases worldwide and one of the largest social and economic crises in living memory, controlling and recovering from COVID-19 is the international community¡¯s top priority. ±¬ÁÏÍø Member States have thus mandated this special session to reflect on the response to the ongoing crisis to date and forge a united path forward to better recovery. That includes access to a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Ahead of tomorrow¡¯s special session, the President said, ¡°COVID-19 is a global health crisis. It is also an economic crisis, a development crisis, a humanitarian crisis and a human rights crisis. It revealed the structural inequalities and disproportionately affected the most vulnerable members of our societies.¡±
  • He added, ¡°The special session provides a historic moment for us to come together to beat COVID-19. With news of multiple vaccines on the cusp of approval, and with trillions of dollars flowing into global recovery efforts, the international community has a unique opportunity to do this right.
  • The world is looking to the ±¬ÁÏÍø for leadership; this is a test for multilateralism. I believe the General Assembly will be able to forge a path forward and to end the suffering of the people we serve.¡±
  • A?press release on the special session, as well as the?programme?and?list of speakers, is available on the President¡¯s web site.
  • Asked whether the President thought that ¡°major vaccine makers should give up their intellectual property rights so that the poorest countries can make their own vaccines¡±, the Spokesperson said that, in general, the President believed in the fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as a global public good. That was an idea he was promoting, and it formed the basis of his #Vaccines4All initiative. Regarding any more specific ideas, the Spokesperson urged the journalist to wait for the special session, in which the President would be speaking, and which would feature on its second day a panel devoted to the topic of vaccines as a public good. During that panel, there would be top minds in the field of vaccines exchanging ideas.
  • Asked whether there would be a final statement issued after the special session, the Spokesperson said the President¡¯s office would circulate a factual summary that would encapsulate the ideas and commitments discussed over the two days. But the real point of the special session was to galvanize concrete action and approach the response to COVID-19 in a multilateral and collective way.
  • Asked about the time limit for statements by Member States, the Spokesperson said that would be five minutes for individual delegations and seven minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States.
  • Asked whether the videos received so far were within those time limits, the Spokesperson said the President¡¯s office was not reviewing the videos as they came in. One would therefore have to wait until tomorrow. But the Spokesperson added that, just like during the General Assembly¡¯s General Debate, the President would not cut off videos by world leaders that went beyond the time limit. He added, ¡°This is their chance to speak on a very important topic, so we¡¯re going to want to hear them out.¡±

PRESIDENT WARNS OF COVID-19 ¡°INFODEMIC¡±

  • The President?spoke this morning?at a virtual side event organized by the Permanent Mission of Latvia to highlight the current COVID-19 ¡°infodemic.¡±
  • He said misinformation and disinformation are not new concepts. But their existence in the context of COVID-19 has sharpened risks.
  • He said it is likely that the world will see several viable COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months. In that regard, building vaccine confidence and countering disinformation is in our collective interest.?

MODERN SLAVERY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO EXIST

  • Today is the?International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. In a?, the President said we cannot stand by and allow modern slavery to exist ¨C especially as the global economic fall-out, resulting from COVID-19, threatens to plunge even more people into forced labour, debt bondage, domestic servitude, forced marriage and human trafficking.
  • He said it is incumbent upon each of us, to stand up for the freedom of everyone, everywhere.

PLENARY TAKES ACTION ON PALESTINE, MIDDLE EAST, CULTURE OF PEACE

  • The General Assembly plenary is meeting today to debate and take action on three agenda items ¨C namely the question of Palestine, the situation in the Middle East and a culture of peace. In total, there are 12 draft resolutions being considered ¨C and action on them is expected this afternoon.
  • In?remarks to the plenary?this morning, the President said, ¡°The question of Palestine was first brought before the General Assembly in 1947. Since then we have come to this hall, numerous times, and affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to live like the rest of us.¡±
  • He added that the Assembly has adopted numerous resolutions and decisions to that effect over the past seven decades. Yet, nothing has changed. There is an ongoing attempt to deny the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people.? He said it is time to stand for justice.
  • Asked whether it was ironic for an individual nominated by Israel to have been elected to the ±¬ÁÏÍø Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities around the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Spokesperson said it was up to Member States to decide who to vote for. Regarding what the President thought about the issue of Palestine in general, the President had already spoken extensively about that this week, including in the General Assembly plenary today.

DATES SET FOR CONSIDERATION OF MAIN COMMITTEE REPORTS

  • Dates have now been set for the General Assembly plenary to consider the?reports of the Main Committees.
  • First Committee reports will be considered on 7 December.
  • Fourth Committee reports will be considered on 10 December.
  • Sixth Committee reports will be considered on 15 December.
  • Third Committee reports will be considered on 16 December.