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Remarks\u00a0by the President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Philemon Yang<\/strong><\/p>\n session of the Council of Presidents of the General Assembly meeting in Slovakia <\/strong>on PGA\u2019s priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n Tuesday, 09th<\/sup> April 2025 <\/strong><\/p>\n Bratislava, Slovakia<\/strong><\/p>\n [As Prepared for Delivery]<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Esteemed colleagues,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is my pleasure to see you again and participate in today\u2019s discussion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I commend Dr. Han Seung-soo and Dr. Jan Kavan on their able leadership of the Council of Presidents of the General Assembly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I thank the Government of Slovakia for hosting this important gathering and extending its outstanding hospitality.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I appreciate the opportunity to update you on the priorities of the 79th<\/sup> session, particularly relating to:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n First, on the Pact for the Future<\/strong>, I am determined to support implementation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In January, I brought together the co-facilitators and co-chairs of the Assembly\u2019s processes to discuss how to advance implementation of the Pact through relevant, mandated processes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is in line with the call in the Pact\u2019s paragraph 17.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We must ensure that processes, such as the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, and the Second World Social Summit on Development, amongst others, build upon the commitments contained in the Pact.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To broaden support for these aims, in February, I convened a Civil Society Townhall on the priorities for the 79th<\/sup> session and implementation of the Pact for the Future in support of Member States.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And just two weeks ago, I launched the first of three informal dialogues to support Member States in advancing the Pact\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first dialogue focused on the means of implementation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Secretary-General\u2019s participation throughout this dialogue signaled the central importance of this topic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I was encouraged by the discussion \u2013 and convinced that these dialogues will be important avenues for maintaining momentum on the Pact\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I will host the second dialogue in May on monitoring and evaluation, and a third in July on the road to the review of the Pact, in 2028.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In all my engagements with Member States, I emphasise the importance of national implementation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Turning next to the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n My Office is organizing two high-level meetings to highlight the central importance of the United Nations to our multilateral system.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first, on 26 June, will mark the eightieth anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It will offer a key moment for Member States to rekindle the spirit of San Francisco \u2013 and with it, the determination for peace and cooperation that led to the founding of the United Nations in 1945.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The second event, to be presided over by my successor in September during High-Level Week, will showcase the historic achievements of the United Nations over the last eight decades.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the interim period, from June to September, my Office will undertake a communications and outreach campaign, including an exhibition at United Nations Headquarters focused on these achievements.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Through these efforts, I intend to also support the Secretary-General and his \u201cÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ80\u201d initiative.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Turning to three cross-cutting priorities<\/strong> of my Presidency:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am pleased to report that I have continued the innovative practice of convening morning dialogues with Permanent Representatives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As you know, this practice was launched by our dear colleague from Slovakia, His Excellency Mr. Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I chose the name \u201cPalaver Tree Dialogues<\/strong>\u201d, referring to the African tradition of gathering to solve community problems.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I held the first Palaver Tree dialogue in February, on the topic of multilingualism.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have made multilingualism<\/strong> a cross-cutting priority of my Presidency, given its central role in the work of the United Nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I established a multilingualism task force within my Office and circulated an Action Plan in January, which we are implementing with the support of Member States.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gender equality<\/strong> and the empowerment of women and girls is another of my priorities, particularly women\u2019s economic empowerment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Earlier this year, I re-established the Advisory Board on Gender Equality and in March convened the first meeting with members.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, allow me highlight signature initiatives<\/strong> that I have held \u2013 and intend to hold \u2013 on issues that are aligned with the three main pillars of the United Nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On peace and security, last month I convened a joint meeting with the President of the Economic and Social Council on the issue of small arms and light weapons.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This will be followed in June by a high-level thematic debate on the future of peacekeeping in Africa.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On human rights, I convened in January an interactive dialogue to mobilise respect for international humanitarian law in armed conflict.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This will be followed, in May, by an interactive dialogue on child labour in all its forms, including forced recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On sustainable development, in February I co-organised a hearing with the Inter-Parliamentary Union focused on scaling up financing for the Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This will be followed, in July, by an interactive multistakeholder dialogue on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa focused on digitalisation and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As you know, a key responsibility for each President of the General Assembly is to set the stage for our successor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As such, I remain focused on preparations for other High-Level Week meetings, covering:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I look forward to hearing your views and insights on these priorities \u2013 and holding further discussions with you during the remainder of this session.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I thank you.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n * ***** *<\/p>\n Sharon Birch, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, Tel: +1 212 963 0564, M: +1 646 342 5873, Email: birchs@un.org<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser\/ Social and Digital Media\/Media Relations, M: +1 917 3614990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n <\/p>\n More Information and Updates\u00a0: Website<\/a><\/u>: \u00a0YouTube: <\/a><\/u>\u00a0X (Twitter):<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/u>: \u00a0LinkedIn: <\/a><\/u>\u00a0Photo Repository<\/a><\/u>: Bluesky<\/a><\/u>; Weekly Highlights<\/a><\/u>; <\/u>Resolutions of the 79th Session \u2013 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Remarks\u00a0by the President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly Mr. Philemon Yang session of the Council of Presidents of the General Assembly meeting in Slovakia on PGA\u2019s priorities Tuesday, 09th April 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<\/strong>Media Contacts<\/p>\n