6 October 2017: The President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Miroslav Lajčák, held his first dialogue with civil society on 6 October, during which he presented his priorities and vision for the 72nd session of the UNGA. The UNGA President also shared observations from the UNGA General Debate.
The UN Department of Public Information (DPI) organized the civil society dialogue on 6 October 2017, in New York, US. The event was live-streamed on Facebook to allow interaction with audiences beyond the UN room.
Opening the meeting, Lajčák said the three UN pillars (development, human rights and peace and security) need equal attention and thus will be equally addressed during his mandate. He identified three priorities for UNGA 72: peace; migration and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On peace, especially preventive diplomacy, Lajčák explained that the UN is better equipped to respond to conflict than to de-escalate the pre-conflict phase. He announced that a high-level meeting on ‘Sustaining Peace and Prevention’ would convene in April 2018.
On migration, Lajčák highlighted the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations on a global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration and announced he will chair the upcoming five multi-stakeholders debates on the topic.
Lajčák said he will focus on supporting the SDG implementation related to financing for development, water and the young generation.
On the SDGs, Lajčák explained that his focus in supporting the SDG implementation will be on: financing for development and making the SDGs commercially attractive for private sector investment; water, especially with the upcoming launch of the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Sustainable Development’; and the young generation.
On the UNGA General Debate, which took place from 19-25 September 2017, the UNGA President noted that the Debate gathered the highest number of speakers in the past 11 years, with all Member States addressing the Assembly. He said the most frequently mentioned topics were: the SDGs and climate change (140 mentions); migration (more than two-thirds of the speakers); and terrorism and nuclear weapons.
Lajčák concluded by emphasizing the importance of civil society contributions to provide feedback on the Assembly’s actions and to inform the UNGA about challenges encountered in SDG implementation and propose solutions.
In the ensuing discussion, civil society representatives welcomed the UNGA President’s priorities and focus on youth. Participants also presented their own initiatives and upcoming events and raised issues related to civil society’s access in the UNGA high-level meetings. [DPI Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]