UN’s busy week ahead, starting with refugee summit
As world leaders gather in New York in the coming days, it will be the busiest diplomatic season of the year at the United Nations Headquarters. During the high-level segment of the General Assembly’s 71st session, which starts next week, heads of state and governments and world leaders will debate to define international responses to many of the global challenges of today, including protracted conflicts, extreme poverty and hunger, the refugee crisis and climate change.
The high-level week will kick off with a summit on Monday, 19 September, International Day of Peace, to address large movements of refugees and migrants. This is the first time the General Assembly has called for a summit at the Heads of State and Government level on this topic and it is a historic opportunity to come up with a blueprint for a better international response. World leaders are expected to adopt a political declaration as an outcome document at the summit, during which the UN will see a new addition to its family – a dedicated migration agency. Leaders of the UN and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will sign an agreement to officially make IOM a related agency of the UN system. IOM, an intergovernmental organization with more than 9,500 staff and 450 offices worldwide, assisted an estimated 20 million migrants in 2015. Founded in the wake of the World War II to resettle refugees from Europe, the organization celebrates its 65th anniversary in December of this year.
From Tuesday 20 September to Monday 26 September, world leaders will address the annual general debate under the theme of The “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a universal push to transform our world.” The following day, the Assembly will hold a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance, which has become one of the biggest threats to global health and endangers other major priorities, such as human development. On the same day, the Secretary-General will make a pitch for an early entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change by convening a special event at which ｃountries can deposit their ratification instruments with him. To date, it will require 28 more ｃountries, representing 16 per cent of global emissions, to ratify the Agreement, which was reached last December. Beyond the high-level week, the 71st session will continue to tackle implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a 15-year blueprint towards a healthy planet and a world free of extreme poverty.
Vocabulary Words:
1. Segment - (noun) a part of something that is separate from the other parts or can be considered separately
2. Protracted - (adj.) lasting longer than expected or longer than usual
3. Kick off - (phrasal verb) to start
4. Blueprint - (noun) a plan which shows what can be achieved and how it can be achieved
5. Declaration - (noun) an official or formal statement, especially about the plans of a government or an organization the act of making such a statement
6. Ratification - (noun) the act or process of making an agreement officially valid by voting for or signing it
7. Tackle - (verb) to make a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem or situation
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think is the main purpose of the U.N (United Nations)?
2. In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a member of the United Nations?
3. Do you think the United Nations is the most powerful global organization? Why do you think so?
4. What do you think is the most serious global issue nowadays? Why?
5. If you would be a delegate at the U.N summit, what world issue would you like to talk about and why?
