NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS BY PAULINA KUBIAK GREER,
SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID
United Nations Headquarters, New York
TRANSATLANTIC SLAVERY
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ today marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Today¡¯s theme is ¡°Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism¡±.
In his address in the General Assembly Hall, President Abdulla Shahid noted that it is our obligation to continue to raise awareness of the pernicious legacies of slavery, including racism, discrimination and social injustice, while also celebrating the bravery of those who stood against this brutal system.
President Shahid said that to this very day, the consequences of the transatlantic slave trade – and the racist attitudes that facilitated it – still endure, and affect the lives of many people of African descent.
He said that standing in solidarity with victims is the bare minimum we can do. We must act to address these inequalities.
His full remarks are online: /pga/76/2022/03/29/international-day-of-remembrance-of-the-victims-of-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade/
EQUIANO.STORIES
Given that the focus of today¡¯s Day is on stories of courage¡
A reminder that today at 1:15pm in the Trusteeship Chamber, President Shahid will hold a special event related to the film, Equiano.Stories.
The film is based on the memoir of Olaudah Equiano, who after decades of slavery was able to buy his freedom and write about this life in ¡°The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African¡±.
The film will be introduced by Mati Kochavi, who produced the film, and worked on it with his daughter, Maya.
The event will feature New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Representatives from the Israeli, Jamaican, Senegalese and the United States Permanent Missions to the United Nations. The African Union. And we also expect to hear from Under-Secretary-General Catherine Pollard, who is also the Chair of the Task Force on Addressing Racism and Promoting Dignity for All.
The event will be moderated by Sherwin Bryce-Pease from the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Everyone is welcome to this event.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
In the General Assembly, Member States are still taking part in the commemorative event related to the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
This afternoon, we expect action on two draft resolutions.
One, if adopted, would create the International Day of Plant Health.
The other is a resolution related to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, focusing on COVID.
PEACEBUILDING
Later this afternoon, President Shahid will meet with the co-chairs of the Peacebuilding Commission to discuss the upcoming high-level meeting on peacebuilding financing.
President Shahid will meet with Ambassador Rabab Fatima, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh; Ambassador Osama Abdelkhale, Permanent Representative of Egypt; and Ambassador Jose Blanco, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic.
HOPE FELLOWSHIP
And before I take your questions, I wanted to introduce you to Javier Spencer, from Antigua and Barbuda.
Javier and fellow Stella Kamukama from Uganda are HOPE Fellows.
They will be working with the communications team for the next several weeks.
Javi is here to tell you about an event that the HOPE Fellows took part in yesterday, organized by the European Union.
Javier: On 28th March 2022, the PGA Fellows met with human rights experts from the European Union and other Member States. At that engagement, the experts spoke of the state of play on youth rights and policies at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, and the role of young people in humanitarian action. The discussion was robust and fruitful, recognising that youth is not a monolith. Young people are a diverse group comprising various identities and perspectives, making them formidable agents of change, especially at the multilateral level.
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked for a reaction to the latest round of talks between Ukraine and Russia. The Spokesperson said that OPGA has been following the talks in Turkey and the early reports that the talks are progressing on the right track. We are not privy to the actual details. However, any progress is progress and is welcomed.
The Spokesperson was asked if a Member State could be removed from the Human Rights Council through a General Assembly resolution, and the last time that this happened. The Spokesperson said that a Member State could be suspended through a 2/3 majority vote. That happened in 2011 in the case of Libya.
The Spokesperson was asked for plans of the humanitarian report that is expected to be presented to the General Assembly, per the resolution adopted in the Emergency Special Session. The Spokesperson said that it is up to Member States to decide if they would like the report presented in a meeting or simply as a written document. At this point, the Spokesperson said that she did not know of any plans for a meeting related to the presentation of the humanitarian report.
VIDEO
Video of the press briefing on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ WebTV is available at:?https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1s/k1sonxb7ox