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 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.  

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Special Session on COVID-19: Letter to President of the UN General Assembly

The following letter, signed by 60 organizations, has been sent to the President of the UN General Assembly, concerning participation of CSOs and other Stakeholders:

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United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021: Food Systems Summit Dialogues

As a part of the Decade of Action for the SDGs, the United Nations Secretary-General is convening a Food Systems Summit in September 2021 aimed at empowering people to leverage food systems as accelerators of progress to realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

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High-Level Dialogue on Energy 2021 Update

The Secretary-General will convene a High-Level Dialogue on Energy in 2021 

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 74/225, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will convene a High-level Dialogue on Energy at the summit level during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2021, in New York. The goal of the Dialogue is to raise ambition and accelerate action towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 7 on energy by catalyzing innovative solutions, investments, and multi-stakeholder partnerships, in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Visit the website for the High-level Dialogue on Energy 2021 for further information.

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Submission of written statements to the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on Population and Development (19-23 April 2021) is now open

We would like to inform you that submission of written statements to the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on Population and Development (19-23 April 2021) is now open. The special theme of the session is: “Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development”.

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Urgent: General Assembly Special Session in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 3-4 December

Please note that we have received the following information on the above event.

The portal for applications for the special-accreditation of ECOSOC non-accredited CSOs for the UNGASS in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (03-04 December 2020) has been opened yesterday 12 November. 

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UN General Assembly Special Session, 3-4 December 2020 – What are the implications for CSOs?

The arrangements for the General Assembly Special Session in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic (as discussed in the previous posting: UN General Assembly Special Session on COVID-19 pandemic) could potentially have serious implications for civil society organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders.

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UN General Assembly Special Session on COVID-19 pandemic

The General Assembly will host a special session in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic at the level of Heads of State and Government, at UN Headquarters on 3 and 4 December from 09.00 to 21.00 hours (New York time).

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COVID-19: The New Syndemic

Dr Varthani Kirupanandan MBChB, for the Commonwealth Medical Trust

Since the very first case of COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the number of cases worldwide has grown exponentially.  COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020,¹   and currently there are more than 43,500,000 cases and more than 1,160,650 deaths worldwide. COVID-19 has also had a devastating impact on the global economy, worse than the 2009 financial crisis². It is expected to result in an increase in starvation³ and has altered the education and working sector significantly.

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The ‘new normal’ or the ‘now normal’ in a (post-)Covid-19 world… 6 months on, (Posting 1)

by Marianne Haslegrave

It is now six months since my posting on the ‘new normal’ in a (post)-COVID-19 world. (ADD LINK) Wherever we live, as individuals, we have had to become used to the new ways of living: to social / physical distancing; to hand-washing; to wearing masks outside the home; and to being in isolation, if we come in contact with someone who is infected. 

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