UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2020) The UN General Debate for the 75th General Assembly (UNGA) session will be held in a modified format with member states submitting pre-recorded statements in advance and a limited number of diplomats delivering speeches in-person, spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly Reem Abaza said on Friday.
According to Abaza, the UNGA President, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, will shortly present a draft decision outlining the format of the event to the UN General Committee to proceed with the adoption.
"The draft includes, that the General Assembly decides that each member state, observer state, the European Union is encouraged to submit a pre-recorded statement to the General Debate and its 75th session, the high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and other high-level meetings during this period," Abaza said.
The pre-recorded messages will be shown in the General Assembly Hall. Member states that wish their representatives residing in New York to deliver statements in-person would be allowed to do so, Abaza said.
The annual General Debate high-level week is set to start on September 22.
The UN headquarters building in New York City has been deserted for almost four months following the COVID-19 outbreak in March. Since then, nearly all meetings and conferences, including those of the UN Security Council, have been conducted online.
