Special Session on COVID-19: Latest information on the General Assembly Special Session in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 3 – 4 December 2020

In his letter, dated 11 November 2020, the President of the UN General Assembly has provided further information on its Special Session in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which will be held on 3 and 4 December 2020, from 09.00 to 21.00 New York time at United Nations Headquarters in New York, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 75/4. It will be at the level of Heads of State and Government and webcast live.  

The key points of the letter are summarized below. The full text is available here. 

Programme of the Special Session 

The programme will consist of:

• an opening segment featuring statements by the President of the General Assembly; the Secretary-General (including in his role as Chair of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination); the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); the President of the Security Council; and the Chair of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries (NAM)
• a general debate, which will start at the end of the opening segment in the General Assembly Hall on 3 December 2020. Statements, including introductory remarks, will be limited to five minutes for individual delegations and seven minutes for those made on behalf of a group of States 
• a presentation by the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO), followed by an interactive dialogue led by the Head of WHO and other relevant United Nations entities , which will comprise a series of panels covering key aspects of the impact of, and response to, the COVID-19 pandemic, including the UN system’s response to date; the road to a COVID-19 vaccine; the human rights and humanitarian dimensions of the pandemic; and the socio-economic impact and road to recovery beyond UNGASS-31. (The full programme of the interactive dialogue will be provided in due course) 
• a closing segment, comprising remarks by the President of the General Assembly

Participation, list of speakers, pre-recorded statements 

The Secretariat opened the list of speakers for delegations of Member and Observer States and the European Union on Tuesday,17 November 2020, at 10.00, with the provisional list being made available on Wednesday, 25 November 2020. The pre-recorded statements will be circulated as a document of the General Assembly.

Participation of NGOs and other Stakeholders

The letter refers to the list for participation of non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, stating that in the lead up to the Session he “will submit a list of relevant representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector who may participate in the special session, taking into account the principles of transparency and equitable geographical representation, with due regard for the meaningful participation of women, to Member States for their consideration on a non-objection basis, after which the final list will be transmitted to Member States.” There is no reference to NGOs in consultive status nor the process for NGO and other Stakeholders speaking opportunities in either the general debate or the panels for the interactive dialogue.

Access to the General Assembly Hall and other logistical details

Information on the practical arrangements for in person access for the Special Session and will be circulated in due course. For further queries, Ambassador Tegan Brink, Chef de Cabinet, Ms. Hila Wesa, Team Leader on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs (wesa@un.org) and Ms. Inga Kanchaveli (inga.kanchaveli@un.org), Senior Advisor on General Assembly Affairs in my Office should be contacted.