President Cyril Ramaphosa will participate virtually in the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76).

UNGA76 refers to the 76 years of existence of the United Nations, which was established in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II.

UNGA76 takes place from 21 – 27 September 2021 under the theme, ‘Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’.

Due to challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the scale of the event, the General Debate and high-level meetings of UNGA76 will be held in a hybrid format, combining in-person and virtual participation.

The overarching issues that are expected to be dominant and of relevance to South Africa during UNGA76 include:

–              Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic;

–              Discussions on the UN Secretary-General’s report entitled ‘Our Common Agenda’, following the 75th anniversary of the United Nations;

–              The implementation of the 2030 Agenda on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

–              Climate change and the upcoming Conference on Climate Change (COP26) to be held in Glasgow in November 2021;

–              Reform of the United Nations and

–              Peace and security matters.

Source: South African Government News Agency