Live updates: FAO at UNGA75
In 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) marks 75 years of presence in the United Nations General Assembly forums. Against the backdrop of COVID-19, this year’s session (UNGA75) relied on technology and the upkeep of physical distancing measures to drive home the value of collective action under the theme “The future we want, the UN we need: Reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”.
The 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA75) opened with a sombre tone and moment of silence on 15 September against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary-General António Guterres, General Assembly outgoing President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, and newly-appointed President Volkan Bozkir addressed a handful of physically distanced delegates, as well as millions of people watching via live stream to underscore the value of multilateralism.
On the opening day of UNGA75, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu spoke in a high-level event organized by the Global Network Against Food Crises, where he addressed the most recent global data about how COVID-19 is driving up acute hunger in vulnerable countries. Read more here.
On 17 September, FAO Director General jointly with Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, and David Beasley, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme briefed the Security Council and provided an update on the food security situation in a number of countries around the world experiencing food insecurity. The FAO Director-General called for a "package of solutions" to be put in place in order to combat acute food insecurity effectively to harness the power of investments and innovation. Read more here.
On 18 September, the SDG Moment reiterated how the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down progress to achieve the SDGs. It set out a vision for delivering the SDGs over the course of the United Nation’s ‘Decade of Action’ plan. It called for innovation, political will, financing and coordination across the UN to deliver the 2030 Agenda.
On the same day, FAO launched the Green Cities Initiative and Action Plan, which aims to improve the livelihoods and well-being of people living in urban and peri-urban areas by providing them with access to more green spaces and helping transform local agri-food systems. The new initiative was launched at a high-level virtual event, attended by the FAO Director-General, and the Chiefs of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), among others. Read more here.
On 22 September, President Volkan Bozkir opened the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, presiding over the opening of the General Debate. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for global solidarity and warned that COVID-19 is a ‘dress rehearsal’ for challenges ahead. On this first day, world leaders participated virtually to the General Debate addressing a largely empty General Assembly Hall – through pre-recorded statements
President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, stated that his country will support FAO’s South-South Cooperation (SSC) efforts with $50 million in funding, which comes in addition to the $50 million pledged to the UN's Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19. Since FAO and China established the SSC Programme in 2009, experts from China have shared their knowledge and technologies with local farmers in Africa and Asia to raise agricultural productivity and sustainability in areas such as cereal production, animal husbandry, horticulture, fisheries and aquaculture, and water and soil management and conservation. Read more about FAO welcoming the announcement here.
On 29 September, the General Debate closed on a positive note, with political leaders demonstrating their commitment to multilateralism and the United Nations. They agreed that multilateralism would be the most effective system to address global challenges, such as the pandemic and climate change. The President of the General Assembly closed the event by calling for greater solidarity, stronger international cooperation and coordination – “we are stronger together”.
On the same day, a global event marked the first International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. FAO, the UN Environment Programme and partners urged everyone to reduce food loss and waste or risk an even greater drop in food security and natural resources. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, in a message sent in support of the Day, called food loss and waste "an ethical outrage", given the large number of people that go hungry. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu urged for stronger partnerships, more public and private investments in training for smallholder farmers, technology and innovation to step up the fight against food loss and waste. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, encouraged governments to make food loss and waste part of national climate strategies. Read more here.
On 30 September, the Biodiversity summit engaged Heads of State and Government. It came at the end of the UN Decade on Biodiversity and aimed to galvanize and accelerate concrete commitments and action at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The convention will be held in Kunming, China, in 2021, where members should adopt the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu spoke on behalf of several UN agencies and represented the United Nations system. He stated that biodiversity underpins most of the world's economic activities, particularly in the agri-food sector, so the pace of its erosion must be contrasted with holistic, coherent and collective efforts. Read more here.
More information on FAO’s presence in UNGA75 is available here.