Special Session on COVID-19: Programme information, as at 21 November

The President of the General Assembly has written a letter with a concept note for the Special Session, including further information on the content and programme.

The concept note provides the framework for the session highlighting that in addition to being the greatest health crisis since the creation of the UN, the pandemic is also a humanitarian crisis, a socio-economic crisis, a security crisis and a human rights crisis. 

The UN system-wide response, moreover, is based on three pillars:

• a large-scale, coordinated, comprehensive health response
• a wide-ranging effort to safeguard lives and livelihoods
• a transformative recovery process

The WHO has been leading the public health response.  

Meanwhile the UN has: 

• launched a coordinated global humanitarian response plan to mitigate the immediate impacts of COVID-19 in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, being implemented by UN agencies in partnership with vital local and international partners on the frontlines of the response;
• developed a “global framework for the immediate socio-economic response to the pandemic”, supported by the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund; and 
• the UN Secretary-General has called for a global ceasefire; an initiative on Financing for Development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond; the launch of UN-Verified to mobilise ‘digital first responders’ to counter misinformation on line; and the publication of Policy Briefs to assist governments in fighting the pandemic.   

Collective, coordinated action in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, moreover, can be used to turn the crisis around, including developing strategies to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, recover better, and build forward on track to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

As well as world leaders and UN principals “other relevant stakeholders” will be able to engage in dialogue on the impacts of the pandemic on people, societies and economies; and discuss the multifaceted, coordinated response required to address this crisis. 

On Thursday 3 December the Session will comprise an opening segment followed by a general debate,* focusing on the experiences of Member States.

There will be an interactive dialogue on Friday 4 December  with a series of moderated panels covering key aspects of the impact of, and response to, the pandemic: 

• UN system’s health and humanitarian response to date
• road to a COVID-19 vaccine
• socio-economic impact and recovering better

NGO, CSO and other stakeholders participation

The letter states, as a footnote, that “…time permitting, a limited number of representatives from relevant organizations attending the special session, in line with subparagraphs (d) and (e) of A/RES/75/4” can deliver statements during the general debate. In addition “other relevant stakeholders” will be able to engage in the interactive dialogue, and that the Special Session “will allow many stakeholders” to: 

• share their experiences in fighting the pandemic
• reflect on the global response to date
• forge a united, coordinated and people-centred path forward