2 issues will be important in this year’s UN session
World leaders are returning to the UN General Assembly in New York this week. They had to give a video message at the annual meeting last year due to the Corona epidemic. This time, as vaccination activities have increased, world leaders are physically attending the session.
But as the corona outbreak continues, one-third of the 193 states will send video messages again. The presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers of the rest of the world are expected to be in the United States.
Epidemiology and climate change are the two main topics to be discussed in this session. Besides, human rights, democracy, and international justice and law will be discussed.
Meanwhile, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will also be present at the UN session even if he is not vaccinated.
“I will be in the UN General Assembly,” Bolsonaro said. There I will also make a greeting speech. We will discuss the Corona situation in Brazil, agriculture, trade, and energy.
The Brazilian president said last year that he would be the last to be vaccinated among Brazilians. He will be the last Brazilian to be vaccinated.
According to the research firm Our World in Data, Brazil is the fourth most populous country in the world with a population of over 200 million. But the country’s president is still not under vaccination. He said that his immunity is quite good.
Earlier, New York City authorities expressed doubts about whether world leaders had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. UN chief Antonio Guterres was worried on Wednesday (September 15th).
He says he cannot ask world leaders whether they have been vaccinated. On the other hand, New York said that to sit in the UN high-level conference, world leaders have to show proof of vaccination.
New York City authorities have strongly urged the United Nations to show a certificate of immunization before entering the General Assembly. That is the rule.
But Guterres, the agency’s secretary-general, told Reuters in an interview that “we cannot tell ahead of state whether he has been vaccinated.” We can’t tell him he can’t enter the UN without vaccination.
The United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan is recognized as an international land. U.S. law does not apply there. However, UN officials had earlier promised to comply with local and national guidelines on the epidemic.
