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ON U.N. DAY, PRESIDENT CALLS FOR U.N. PERSONNEL TO BE HONORED & SUPPORTED

• This morning the President convened a?Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Day commemorative event?in the General Assembly Hall.
• In?his remarks, he said today was a time to recognize the incredible value of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and, most importantly, its people.
• He noted that, at any given time, tens of thousands of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ personnel were working for the betterment of humanity and the preservation of our world.
• These were the unsung heroes of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ system, he said, while calling for them to be honored and supported.
• The President also addressed a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter signing commemoration this morning, as part of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Day event. A large poster signed by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ ambassadors was displayed at the front of the General Assembly Hall, symbolizing a recommitment to the Charter.
• Noting that women Permanent Representatives had led the poster-signing effort, the President noted that only 4 of the 850 delegates who met in San Francisco 75 years ago were women.
• Today we have 52 women ambassadors in the General Assembly. The President said that, while women are still underrepresented, their growing numbers are a powerful statement.
• The High-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations started after this morning¡¯s Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Day observance ceremony.
• There are?68 speakers on the list?¨C from Member States, observer States and observers.

LIST OF TOP FINANCIAL & TROOP/POLICE CONTRIBUTORS CIRCULATED TO MEMBER STATES

• On Friday, the President?transmitted to Member States a list?of the top 10 providers of assessed contributions to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ budgets ¨C and of voluntary contributions to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ funds, programmes and agencies. And that list is as follows.
• The top provider is the United States, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, China, Norway, Canada, Netherlands and France. This list is based on the average annual contributions from 2017, 2018 and 2019.
• The President also transmitted a list of the top ten providers of military personnel and police to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ missions ¨C based on averages from 2017, 2018 and 2019. The top provider is Ethiopia, followed by Bangladesh, India, Rwanda, Pakistan, Nepal, Egypt, Indonesia, Ghana and Senegal.
• This information was provided by the Secretary-General to the President, as per the President¡¯s request earlier this month ¨C in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/180 of 2005.?

PRESIDENT CONCERNED BY RISING DISCRIMINATION, INCLUDING ISLAMOPHOBIA

• Asked for the President¡¯s reaction to remarks about Islam by the President of France, in the context of a recent diplomatic incident, the Spokesperson said that any questions about that specific incident should be directed to the Permanent Missions of France and Turkey.
• Regarding Islamophobia in general, the President of the General Assembly in the past had expressed concern that xenophobia, racism and discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds, including Islamophobia, were on the rise. Violence against members of religious groups and places of worship were also increasing.
• The President had said that racist, xenophobic, anti-Islamic rhetoric and violence could no longer be ignored, and it was high time to take effective measures against rising injustice, prejudice, discrimination, intolerance, hate crimes and hate speech. These were all general positions previously expressed by the President, the Spokesperson noted.

SPECIAL SESSION ON COVID-19: DRAFT RESOLUTION TO BE PUT Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDER SILENCE TODAY

• In response to a question, the Spokesperson said the modalities resolution, which would determine the dates and format of the General Assembly¡¯s special session on COVID-19, was still in the hands of the Member States. The aim was to have that resolution adopted on 2 or 5 November.
• The Spokesperson added that the co-facilitators¡¯ draft resolution would be put under silence today for 24 hours. Depending on the feedback, there would be a final text, which would then be placed for action on 2 or 5 November.
• Hopefully, after that, the special session would be held on 3-4 December. Those were the dates the Member States were coalescing around, but final clarity on that would only come once the resolution was adopted.

NO UPDATES ON PRESIDENT¡¯S REQUESTS TO MEET NEW YORK GOVERNOR & MAYOR

• Asked for updates on the President¡¯s requests to meet the Mayor of New York City and the Governor of New York, the Spokesperson said the President had not received any further communications from the Mayor¡¯s office or a response yet from the Governor¡¯s office about the requested meetings. The journalist referred to a statement issued on this matter by the Mayor¡¯s office; the Spokesperson noted that he had seen it.
• Asked whether the Governor had a liaison officer at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters, the Spokesperson said that was a question for the Governor. For the Spokesperson¡¯s part, he had no knowledge of any such liaison officer.

SPOKESPERSON PROVIDES UPDATES ON NEXT N.P.T. REVIEW CONFERENCE

• In response to a question, the Spokesperson later informed the journalist that the President-designate of the 2020 Review Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) had held several informal consultations with various groups?and would circulate a letter later this week announcing the new dates for the reconvening of the 10th NPT Review Conference.
• The groups were inclined to support the dates of 2 August-3 September 2021,?due to logistical issues, including room availability.