The 73rdsession of the UN General Assembly kicked off last week and a heads of state and government session that is slated to begin Tuesday, will focus on how to make the UN relevant to the global population. The assembly’s annual high-level segment, formally known as the ‘general debate’, will see every country’s leader address the world. The UN’s Secretary-General, António Guterres, has indicated that the summit will seek answers for a ‘renewed commitment’ to global rules and values. President Paul Kagame, who also doubles as the current Chairperson of African Union, is already in New York for the UN Assembly, among other engagements. The busy agenda of the meeting will cover a number of international issues, including sustainable development, climate change, peace and security, human rights, public health concerns and gender equality. The General Debate this year will focus on global leadership and shared responsibilities and a theme to guide heads of state and government’s speeches has been chosen. The official theme is “Making the United Nations Relevant to all People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”. The current President of the 73rd General Assembly, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador María Fernanda Espinosa, has already briefed heads of state and government to focus their speeches at the general debate on “continuing relevance” of the UN and “the importance of a shared vision”. The general debate will run for six days. Rwanda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, told The New Times Friday that President Kagame is expected to speak at the high-level session tomorrow. “Each head of state or delegation will deliver an address at the General Assembly and President Kagame will do the same on Tuesday, September 25, as President of of the Republic of Rwanda,” he said. In addition to the General Debate and other plenary sessions, the two weeks of the 73rd General Assembly will include a long list of meetings and side events. They will include a high-level meeting on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on September 24, an event to renew international commitment and Action for Peacekeeping on September 25, a high-level side event on violence against LGBTI individuals on September 25 as well, a high-level event on ending tuberculosis on September 26, a series of humanitarian-themed events including the Yemen and South Sudan responses, and many more. Every year, global leaders and change-makers gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for two weeks, to discuss the burning issues facing the world and set the global agenda for the year ahead. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
