by Alison Ryan

World leaders together with Heads of International Financial Institutions, Heads of United Nations agencies and other partners will convene at a high-level meeting organized by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 23 September 2022.

The Plenary meetings for the General Debate of the 77th Session runs from Tuesday 20 September to Saturday 24 September, and Monday 26 September 2022.
Source: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/unga-high-level-week-2022/

The 77th session of the General Assembly opened on 13 September under the theme, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.”

News dated 14 September 2022, stated that the UN chief, Secretary-General, António Guterres, had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We had the opportunity to discuss the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and its possible expansion…We have discussed the obstacles that still exist in relation to the exports of Russian food and fertilizers.”

He said there was a danger of a “market crunch” if more Russian fertilizers are not able to reach countries in dire need for future crop production, adding that it was “absolutely essential” to remove obstacles to fertilizer exports.

He said the two leaders had also discussed the question of Ukrainian prisoners of war, and also the UN Fact-Finding Mission, which is looking into an incident at Olenivka on 29 July, which led to the death of 53 Ukrainian POWs, and injured dozens more.

The UN chief said President Putin had indicated the UN team would be given access to the area where the attack took place. “There will be no obstacle from the Russian side” to go wherever investigators choose to go, “and that is a very important aspect”, he added.

In the first plenary meeting of the 77th session of the UNGA, Csaba Kőrösi, the Hungarian diplomat currently serving as President of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, and previous Director of Environmental Sustainability in the Office of the President of Hungary, urged world leaders to respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges, including the war in Ukraine, by working together and building bridges across what are “deep divides” [13 September].

Csaba Kőrösi reminded delegates that the United Nations was created out of the ashes of war and destruction, with the intention of being “a well of solutions”.

“We will not be returning to the old normal. The only way to achieve better outcomes is to transform. The contours of the transformation we need are already known. The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and Our Common Agenda, all point us in the right direction. What remains to be seen, is whether we will deliver”, he said.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, concluded that the 77th General Assembly Session must be a moment of transformation, “for people and planet alike”.
Source: New UN General Assembly President highlights ‘solidarity, sustainability and science. UN News, 13 September 2022.