President Ramotar to address UN General Assembly on September 26

Georgetown, GINA, September 24, 2013

 

 

 

President Donald Ramotar will be addressing the 68th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on September 26 at its New York headquarters where leaders of 193 nations are at present meeting.

Today, UN Secretary General Ban-ki-moon addressed the opening of the General Assembly, followed by several Heads of State and Government after high-level meetings started on September 23. Among the Presidents to speak today were Barack Obama of the United States, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Chilean President, Sebastian Pinera, and French President Francois Hollande.

 

The UN Secretary-General, who opened the general debate, said the world was in an era of astounding opportunity, as it was the first generation that could remove poverty. On the contrary, he said pressures on the planet, such as climate change, youth unemployment, and unsettled conflicts were climbing, even as events on the ground were outpacing institutions and systems designed for another age.

He cautioned about the threat to sustainable development posed by climate change, noting that the poorest and most vulnerable were first to suffer.

 

The UN Secretary-General spoke of the Syrian situation which he termed the “biggest peace and security challenge in the world”, and noted that the Syrian Government must fully and quickly honour the obligations it has assumed in acceding to the Chemical Weapons Convention.  He also spoke of the Millennium Development Goals which generated remarkable gains, but progress on some of them was delayed.

 

President Ramotar who delivered his inaugural address to the UN on September 27 last, had touched on several sensitive global issues, including the recognition of the State of Palestine based on its 1967 borders, lifting the historic US blockade on Cuba, and the Syrian crisis.