Manama, The General Meeting of the Council of the Presidents of the UN General Assembly (UNCPGA), hosted by Bahrain following an invitation from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, kicked off here today under the chairmanship of Dr. Han Seung-soo.
In his opening speech, Dr. Han Seung-soo expressed sincere thanks to the Kingdom of Bahrain for hosting the second session of the UNCPGA after its activation, noting that the Council seeks to provide the experiences of former presidents of the UNGA with the aim of promoting pluralism and achieving the highest goals of the United Nations Charter.
He expressed his hope that the meeting will contribute to providing appropriate ground for the launch of constructive discussions and initiatives that would consolidate the UN principles, promote global peace and security, as well as provide a positive environment for sustainable and real development for all peoples to take place.
President of the 61st UN General Assembly (UNGA) session, Shaikha Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa, in her statement, commended holding the meeting in Bahrain at the invitation of HM the King.
She indicated that since its accession to the UN in 1971, the kingdom has spared no effort to promote human rights, fight poverty and protect the local environment, stressing that today’s UNCPGA meeting confirms Bahrain’s pivotal and general role in enhancing global peace and security.
President of the current session of UN General Assembly, Csaba Korösi, praised the meeting, extending thanks to HM King Hamad and the Government of Bahrain for hosting it.
In his video message, Korösi reviewed the challenges the world is currently going through at all levels, calling for more concerted efforts to overcome them, and provide a real, true and sustainable environment for all peoples.
He expressed hope that this meeting will be a new platform capable of enhancing the values and principles of the United Nations, and pushing them forward by taking advantage of the accumulated experiences of former presidents and their future vision.
UN Secretary -General, Antonio Guterres, also addressed the meeting. He expressed thanks and appreciation to HM the King for the invitation to hold the meeting in the kingdom.
In his video message, the UN chief asserted that the world is currently facing a wide range of challenges, including the fast-changing digital world, as technology is transforming every aspect of our lives.
He stressed the need to ensure that technology does not create any kind of inequality, highlighting the importance of reducing the risks that modern digital technologies can cause, especially mis- and disinformation and hate speech.
He also warned of abusing personal data, which is used to ” boost profits and manipulate behavior”, calling the need to “establish new standards that improve cyber protection, prevent information breaches and stop illegal surveillance.”
” That is why I have proposed a Global Digital Compact, to be agreed at next year’s Summit of the Future – with input from the private sector, civil society, and others,” he said.
” We are also working with a wide range of actors to advance a Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms,” he added.
After that, the participants discussed the main topics and issues on the agenda of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
The two-day meeting discussed a number of key issues, including cybersecurity and combating cybercrime, based on the role of the Council as a permanent leadership forum to promote pluralism and international cooperation, with the aim of consolidating the UN goals, foremost of which are international security and international.
It is worth noting that the Council of the Presidents of the UN General Assembly met at the UN headquarters in New York on October 20, 2022. It decided to institutionalise its role in order to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a means to face multiple challenges.
UNCPGA’s members include former UNGA presidents, and is currently chaired by President of 56th UNGA session and former South Korean Prime Minister, Dr. Han Seung-soo.
Source: Bahrain News Agency