The annual session of the General Assembly of the United Nations begins in September with a two-week General Debate attended by Heads of State and Government. The General Debate revolves around a broad theme chosen by the President of the General Assembly. It provides an opportunity for world leaders to come together and discuss a variety of global issues, not only through their official statements before the plenary of the General Assembly, but also through a number of bilateral meetings and side events. Increasingly, national delegations to the annual session of the General Assembly are including members of parliament.
This year's General Debate is preceded by a United Nations high-level meeting on the theme of the Role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means. It will be preceded by a United Nations high-level meeting on the "Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases" (19-20 September), to which the IPU has been invited to bring a parliamentary contribution. A series of other important events will be taking place at UN Headquarters in the course of the same week, including:
- High-level meeting on “Addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication” (20 September);
- High-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action against Racism (22 September);
- Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General on Nuclear Energy Safety.
The parliamentary meeting will take place on Wednesday, 21 September, at 1.15 p.m. in the Conference Room 6 at the Temporary North Lawn Building (TNLB) of the United Nation Headquarters in New York (entrance at 1st Avenue and 47th Street). It will focus on the issue of Peace mediation, as the main theme of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly.
The incoming President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar, has been invited to present his priorities and to engage in a discussion with participating legislators.
For more information, please contact the IPU Office in New York:
Tel.: +1 212 557 58 80
Fax: +1 212 557 39 54
Email: ny-office@mail.ipu.org
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