PRESS BRIEFING
BY MONICA GRAYLEY,?
SPOKESPERSON FOR?GENERAL ASSEMBLY?
PRESIDENT DENNIS FRANCIS
United Nations Headquarters, New York
21 March 2024
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¡°RACIAL DISCRIMINATION HAS NO PLACE IN OUR WORLD¡±, PGA SAYS ON INTERNATIONAL DAY
The General Assembly held, this morning, a plenary meeting to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
President Dennis Francis delivered opening remarks, highlighting that: ¡°Racial discrimination is a flagrant violation of human rights, dignity and the equality inherent in all human beings. It is morally wrong and has no place in our world¡±.
The PGA stated that millions of people across the globe continue to endure various forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The theme of this year’s observance is ¡°A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent¡±.
This year of 2024 is also the last of the International Decade for People of African Descent, which started in 2015.
The GA also heard from four guests: Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights; Professor Verene Alberta Shepherd, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Ms. June Soomer, Chair-designate of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent: and Ms. Uch¨¦ Blackstock, Founder and CEO for Advancing Health Equity.
Next week, President Dennis Francis will hold a Gayap dialogue on reparatory justice to honour the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade, which is commemorated on 25 March.
The PGA recalled that ¡°people of African descent still face today through disproportionately high levels of poverty and hardship; higher levels of unemployment; a heightened vulnerability to police brutality; and a lack of access to education, health care, and social protection.¡±
For his full remarks, you can access our website:
GA ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
This morning, the General Assembly adopted the draft resolution ¡°Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development¡±.
The text was introduced by the United States of America and co-sponsored by over 120 Member States.
On the GA agenda for action there were other draft resolutions on several topics including on the culture of peace ¡°Item 14: International Year of Peace and Trust” also crime prevention and criminal justice as well as appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments¡±, among others.
PGA TAKES PART IN COMMEMORATIVE MEETING ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF NOWRUZ
This 21 March is also the International Day of Nowruz, a holiday that is celebrated by more than 300 million people across the globe.
President Dennis Francis delivered a speech yesterday at the Permanent Mission of Iran to mark this occasion.
The PGA considers Nowruz an opportunity for the ¡°renewal of hope, the value of the human spirit, and indeed of, empathy, friendship, and respect for nature¡± and a true symbol of resilience ¨C in the face of adversity, chaos, and conflict.
More on his remarks on the PGA¡¯s website
This is everything we have for today. Tomorrow we will not have a video briefing, but you will be sent any updates via email. Do you have anything else?
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