Transcript?of the Press Briefing by the Spokesperson of the President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly?
(Wednesday, 3 September 2025)
The following is a near-verbatim transcript?of today¡¯s briefing.
Good afternoon, everyone
This is my last briefing as the Spokesperson for the President of the 79th?session of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly.
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Recent natural disasters
First, on the recent natural disasters ¨C the earthquake in Afghanistan, the landslides in Sudan and the flash floods in India and Pakistan, the?President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang ?extends his deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and expresses his solidarity with the peoples and Governments of these nations as they respond to these disasters.
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The High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace
At the High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace which took place yesterday under the theme? ¡°Empowering Youth for a Culture of Peace¡±, the President stated that young people are not passive beneficiaries of peace. They are leaders, innovators and agents of change. Empowering them is one of the most effective ways, he says, to ensure that a culture of peace takes root in every society and endures across generations.
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The High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests
The High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests took place this morning. The President remarked that we had made a promise last year in the Pact for the Future to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons. He added that we must continue on the path that we started in 1996 ¨C the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty – and renew our determination to prohibit nuclear testing as a first and important step toward nuclear disarmament.
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?Informal ad hoc working group on Mandate Implementation Review
At its plenary meeting yesterday, the General Assembly decided to establish an informal ad hoc working group to consider the Secretary-General’s report on the Mandate Implementation Review as part of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 Initiative. The President appointed Permanent Representative of New Zealand, H.E. Ms. Carolyn Schwalger and Permanent Representative of Jamaica H.E. Mr. Brian Wallace to co-chair the working group with the aim of concluding the work by March 2026.
As you know, there will be the annual debate on the situation in Ukraine tomorrow.
Additionally, a number of resolutions will be adopted on Friday.?These include:
- The Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly
- The Tenth Anniversary of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime
- Cooperation between the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the African Union
- Cooperation between the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the International Organization of la Francophonie
And as I close, while this year was certainly challenging, the 79th session of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly demonstrated a clear commitment to advancing the three pillars of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ: peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development, for example: highlighting the impact of the illicit flow of small arms on sustainable development, stressing the urgent need for international humanitarian law to be respected and ?charting a path forward for the global governance of artificial intelligence.
On a personal note,?first of all, I would like to express my thanks to all Correspondents for allowing me to serve you – as best as I could this past year. It has truly been a rewarding experience.
Thanks to Ms. Melissa Fleming, the Head of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Department of Global Communications, for affording me this privilege. And to colleagues across DGC who were extremely supportive.
I have to thank Stephane and his team who were always available and always helpful. You are the real deal.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the Deputy Chef de Cabinet Blanca Montejo for her willingness to think outside the box. This allowed us to launch the Highlights at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly ¨C a weekly snapshot of the work being done at the GA – We were also able to organise a press briefing on the reform of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Security Council ?– thanks to the kind participation of the Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, H.E. Mr. Tareq AlBanai in his role as Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform. And we succeeded in streamlining the dissemination of our media content.
When I say ¡°we¡±, allow me to thank Ms. Mariam Shaikh, who was more than a media advisor and who I will miss greatly.
Questions and Responses
Question: Thanks for doing such a wonderful job this year and for always being available to help correspondents with many, many questions. And I can’t leave without a final question. Has there been any discussion at all of possibly moving the summit meeting on the two-state solution of the Palestinian issue from New York to Geneva because of the visa ban against many top Palestinian officials?
Response: No, that I’m not aware of in terms of moving the meeting. In fact, I don’t have a lot of details on what’s happening with regard to the meeting that should be scheduled for the 22nd of September.
Question: Do you have an updated version of the speakers list for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵGA?
Response: We should be able to share that with you by the end of the week
Media Contacts
Sharon Birch, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, Tel: +1 212 963 0564, M: +1 646 342 5873, Email: birchs@un.org
Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/ Social and Digital Media/Media Relations, M: +1 917 361 4990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org
More Information and Updates?: Website: ???: ??: ; Weekly Highlights: Resolutions of the 79th Session ¨C Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly