President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will participate at the High-Level General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The High-Level General Debate will take place from September 22 to 29, 2020. The President will speak on the first day of the High Level General Debate on 22 September 2020 within the 0900-1445H window, New York time.

This will be the President’s first time to address the UN General Assembly, the main deliberative organ of the UN where all the 193 Member States are represented.

This year’s UNGA is of historic significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.

This is also the first time that the High-Level General Debate and other high- level meetings of the UNGA will be done virtually, in view of the restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The session’s theme is: “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism – confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action.”

President Duterte will articulate Philippine positions on a wide range of issues of key importance to the country, such as the global response to the coronavirus pandemic; peace and security, including terrorism and geopolitical developments in the Asia Pacific; sustainable development and climate change; the rule of law; justice and human rights – including the situation of migrant workers and refugees; peacekeeping and UN reforms.

The High-Level General Debate will be presided over by H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th UNGA. END