Statement by - UN General Assembly
update
The Prime Minister led the UK delegation to the High Level
segment of the 77th Session of the UN General
Assembly (UNGA77) which took place in New York between 19 and 26
September.
The delegation travelled to UNGA immediately after attending the
State Funeral for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The UN and
its member states joined the global expressions of grief and
respect following the death of Her Late Majesty, with UN
Secretary-General Guterres leading the tributes. Her Late Majesty
had a long relationship with the UN, from the founding meetings
in London in 1946 through to her visit in 2010 when she remarked
that the UN had become “a real force for common good”.
The Foreign Secretary represented the UK at the UN Security
Council meeting on Ukraine, attended a separate event on
strengthening co-operation on accountability for atrocities
committed in the conflict, and spoke at the launch of the First
Lady of Ukraine’s foundation. The Foreign Secretary hosted a
UK-Gulf Cooperation Council Ministerial and attended the
Secretary-General’s Global Crisis Response Group meeting, as well
as meetings focused on global food security and the Indo-Pacific.
He met counterparts from Australia, Canada, China, India,
Indonesia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Ministers
Ford, Ahmad and Goldsmith participated in a wide range of events
focused on international development, education, the environment,
Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict and various regional
issues, and met a number of counterparts.
These events supported the Prime Minister’s and the wider
delegation’s programmes – including a range of bilateral meetings
and roundtables with business leaders in New York. The delegation
engaged with Presidents Biden and Macron, as well as Prime
Minister Jugnauth of Mauritius, Prime Minister Kishida of Japan,
Prime Minister Lapid of Israel, President Nauseda of Lithuania,
President Erdogan of Turkey and President Von der Leyen of the
European Commission.
To mark the UK’s support for our Ukrainian allies, the Prime
Minister joined the Ukrainian First Lady and the Ukrainian Prime
Minister at an exhibition on accountability for international
crimes committed in Ukraine, maintaining the international
spotlight on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. She also set
out to the UN General Assembly how the UK would use its network
of partnerships across the globe, such as the Commonwealth and
organisations like the G7, to strengthen the principles of
sovereignty and self-determination, and to promote freedom and
democracy in all parts of the world.
