Included in several decisions adopted recently by the General Assembly were the modalities for a virtual opening of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly as well as revised dates for the summit on biodiversity and the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN General Assembly has relied on the silence procedure to adopt a number of decisions. Included in five decisions adopted through this procedure on 21 and 22 July were agreements setting out the virtual and in-person modalities for the high-level general debate, set to take place in September.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision titled, ‘High-level meetings of the General Assembly in September 2020’ (A/74/L.75), calls for UN Member States, observer States and the European Union to submit pre-recorded statements by Heads of State, Vice-Presidents, Crown Princes or Princesses, Heads of Government, Ministers or Vice-Ministers. These statements will be played in the General Assembly Hall during the general debate, following an introduction by their representative who will be physically present in the Assembly Hall.

The decision also indicates that these arrangements will also apply to several events that were scheduled to take place during the opening week of the UNGA’s 75th session: the high-level meeting to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary, the summit on biodiversity, a high-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, and a high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

The decision changed the date for the summit on biodiversity. It will now take place on 30 September 2020, rather than the originally anticipated dates of 22-23 September. Likewise, the date for the high-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women has been changed, from 23 September to 1 October 2020. And the high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons will take place on 2 October 2020, rather than 26 September. 

Through a decision titled, ‘Extension of the procedure for taking decisions of the General Assembly during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic until the end of August 2020’ (A/74/L.76), the UNGA agreed to extend its use of the silence procedure. The UNGA President is authorized to circulate draft decisions to all Member States at least 72 hours after consultation with the General Committee and, if the silence is not broken, those decisions are considered adopted. [UN Press Release on decisions regarding 75th UNGA opening session]