The United States (Washington Insider Magazine) – is calling on world leaders to send video messages for this year’s United Nations General Assembly, instead of traveling to New York for the event in September, citing concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A memo from the U.S. Mission to the UN to member states warned that the yearly gathering could potentially become a “super-spreader” event for COVID-19 and advised all UN meetings be virtual.
In the memo, which was obtained by the Associated Press (AP), the U.S. Mission to the UN said that having world leaders travel to New York unnecessarily for the UN’s main policy-making body risked New Yorkers and other travelers. It noted that cases are substantially rising across the country, and that New York is at the highest level of community transmission.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that close to 86% of U.S. counties are at the highest level of transmission, and the seven-day average for new cases is more than 130,000. As of Aug. 17, the U.S. is averaging over 500 deaths a day, with 621,344 COVID-19 related deaths in the last 30 days.
While last year’s General Assembly took place virtually, the U.S. had offered a hybrid option this year for the General Debate, a yearly meeting of heads of state and government at the beginning of the assembly that focuses on a theme chosen by the president-elect. More than 120 heads of state are planning on attending in peron, according to a provisional list of speakers obtained by the AP.
“The United States is willing to make every effort to make these important events on shared priorities successful in a virtual format,” the letter said.
The U.S. said that the General Debate should be the only in-person event held, and that video messages for the debate from leaders are preferred to in-person attendance.
According to the AP, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is especially concerned about high-level in-person events hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the incoming General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid throughout the week.
These include events on the climate crisis, vaccines, the 20th anniversary of the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, food security and energy.
According to the AP, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric described on Aug. 18 steps that the global organization is already taking to prevent the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. Measures include mandatory masks and vaccine status reporting, COVID-19 tests, and mandatory vaccinations for select personnel.
“We are obviously in continuous discussion with member states, who will have to make decisions, and the host country,” Dujarric said. “The secretary-general will continue to focus on keeping everyone in the U.N. community safe.”
The 76th UN General Assembly is set to take place from Sept. 21 – Sept. 27.
