UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The president of the U.N. General Assembly said Monday that world leaders will not be coming to New York for their annual gathering in late September for the first time in the 75-year history of the United Nations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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But Tijjani Muhammad-Bande told a news conference that he hopes to announce in the next two weeks how the 193 heads of state and government will give their speeches on pressing local and world issues during the assembly’s so-called General Debate.
“World leaders cannot come to New York because they cannot come simply as individuals,” he said. “A president doesn’t travel alone, leaders don’t travel alone” and “it is impossible” to bring large delegations to New York during the pandemic.
“We cannot have them in person as we used to — what happened in the last 74 years — but it will happen” Muhammad-Bande said of the annual event.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended last month that the gathering of world leaders, which was supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, be dramatically scaled back because of the pandemic.
Guterres suggested in a letter to the General Assembly president that heads of state and government deliver prerecorded messages instead, with only one New York-based diplomat from each of the 193 U.N. member nations present in the assembly hall.
Muhammad-Bande said Monday that by late September “maybe a hundred or so” people might be allowed in the General Assembly chamber.
The meeting of world leaders usually brings thousands of government officials, diplomats and civil society representatives to New York for over a week of speeches, dinners, receptions, one-on-one meetings and hundreds of side events.
This year was expected to bring an especially large number of leaders to U.N. headquarters to celebrate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 on the ashes of World War II.
Muhammad-Bande said the 75th anniversary celebration “is not conceived as one moment” but will continue throughout the year starting on June 26, the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco.
He said a political declaration on the United Nations at 75 is also being negotiated, and world leaders will have the opportunity to mark the occasion — only not in person.
Good. All it does is cause traffic & wastes everyone’s time.
that’s perfectly fine with New Yorkers. and the city won’t have to waste MILLIONS of dollars to protect the United ARAB Nations participants
Min Hashamayim.
Outta here.
In 1960, when the UN General Assembly delegates came, Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union decided to come, and met with Fidel Castro at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem. Castro and his group were eventually asked to leave that hotel. There were a lot of of anti-Castro demonstrations, and Mayor Wagner asked the federal government for financial assistance for the cost of protecting all of those delegates. Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt also came. The New York Daily News stated in its editorial that “they can all get the h–l out of town”. Incidentally, Khrushchev came on a ship called the Baltica, and the longshoremen refused to render any assistance to his ship. In fact, the worst rotting pier was reserved for him, and his group. I don’t know why he didn’t fly to the USA. However, he flew home on the way back. Castro made a speech at the UN which lasted over four hours; he blasted the USA, as well as the Presidential candidates, who were Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Also, Khrushchev got very irate at the UN, and took off one of his shoes, and started pounding it on the table. When he was eventually deposed four years later, the Soviet Government stated that he was an embarrassment to them, and brought up the shoe pounding incident.
Hooray for covid 19! Finally something good from. It
When will those bums be made to pay the millions they owe in parking tickets? Why are they better than us?
. . . . . פיזור לרשעים הנאה להן והנאה לעולם . . . . כנוס לרשעים רע להן ורע לעולם . . .
משנה סנהדרין פרק ח משנה ה
The best thing to come out of Corona. Now if the buildings could be demolished….
There is always a silver lining in everything.
I could not find it in this horrible pandemic.
But guess what, now I found it!!
The UN is not coming this year!!!!!
I think they should stay away every year!!!
A bit of history.
My grandfather told me, that the spot where the UN is built in Manhattan used to be a Slaughter house, and his father was a SHOCHET their.
And then my grandfather added, IT STILL A SLAUGHTER HOUSE!!!
amen