On 10 September 2024, the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) was kicked off, with the theme “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.
A Belgian delegation, led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, will travel to New York for the Ministerial Week, as part of the General Debate, which starts on 24 September. The Ministerial High Level Week is the most important UN event of the year and brings together the main actors of the international community. This year, it will be preceded by the Summit of the Future and the accompanying Action Days, in which stakeholders from all corners of the world and all sections of society participate.
The Summit of the Future is part of a series of meetings that UN Secretary-General António Guterres is hosting as a follow-up to his report “Our Common Agenda” from late 2021, which aimed to reform global governance in the wake of the Covid pandemic. The aim of the Future Summit is twofold: to accelerate efforts to meet existing international commitments and to take concrete steps to strengthen the multilateral response to emerging challenges.
Prime Minister De Croo will pronounce the Belgian statement at the Summit of the Future on Sunday afternoon local time, with a focus on human rights, gender equality, the digital world and artificial intelligence, the reform of the international financial institutions and aid effectiveness. In addition to a meeting with the UN Secretary-General, he will have several bilateral meetings, where political and economic themes will be discussed. The Prime Minister will underline the importance of the campaign to bring the BBNJ (United Nations Agreement on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction) secretariat to Belgium, through his presence at and participation in a Blue Leaders event on the theme “High level ambition for the high seas”, a BBNJ reception and chairing a high-level panel on sea level rise.
Her Majesty Queen Mathilde will be in New York from 20 to 22 September in her capacity as advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General. She will also meet with Under-Secretary-General and Chair of the UN Group on Sustainable Development, Amina Mohammed, as well as senior officials from several UN specialised agencies, including the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The Queen will participate in and speak at a number of working meetings on gender equality, violence against women and girls, the impact of violence on children’s mental health and the difficulties around humanitarian interventions. She will also attend the opening of the Summit of the Future. Finally, the Queen will visit Fountain House, an NGO that supports people with mental health issues.
The overarching priorities of the Belgian delegation to UNGA79 are respect for international (humanitarian) law, accountability, human rights, gender equality and humanitarian aid. Based on these values of Belgium’s multilateral commitment, several events are planned, including the annual side event between Belgium and the European Union (DG ECHO) dedicated to security, humanitarian aid and development. This year’s theme is “Reaffirming the obligation to ensure and uphold respect for International Humanitarian Law”. The theme of children in armed conflicts is also given a central place. Additionally, Belgium is organising a round table discussion on “Operational effectiveness of multilateral development banks” with high-level representatives of the World Bank, multilateral development banks and the UN. Moreover, the Belgian delegation members will participate in events related to Ukraine, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sahel, Afghanistan and the international courts.
As per usual, the members of the Belgian delegation will use their presence in New York for several bilateral meetings with other member states, UN agencies, representatives of the private sector and members of civil society.
You can follow the General Debate and various events live on the UN website.