Reinvigorating Multilateralism: EU attends 72nd United Nations General Assembly Ministerial week

The EU representatives will participate in a large number of events at the United Nations and meet with world leaders, reflecting the European Union’s engagement as a force for positive change, in support of multilateralism and a rules-based global order. The level and breadth of the EU’s participation illustrates the strong cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations, who work hand in hand to jointly deliver peace and security, advance human rights and sustainable development, thus changing lives across the globe for the better.  

First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini will join the President of the Council, Donald Tusk, who will – on behalf of the EU – speak at the General Debate on Wednesday, 20 September.

Highlights of the week

To find common solutions to global challenges, the European Union will host several events in the margins of the General Assembly.

  • Represented by Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, the EU will launch an International Alliance for Torture-Free Tradeon Monday, 18 September. The initiative, which is a joint effort with Argentina and Mongolia, aims at ending the trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture. It reflects the European Union’s commitment to protecting human rights, and to the fight against torture and the abolition of the death penalty.
  • In line with the European Union’s support to the Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality, on Wednesday, 20 September the EU will launch together with the United Nations a global initiative to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini and Commissioner Neven Mimica will present the initiative alongside UN Secretary General António Guterres. They will also be joined by high-level participants and UN goodwill ambassadors, among them Malala Yousafzai.  
  • Also on Wednesday, 20 September, the EU will host a ministerial-level event on the Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to enhancing humanitarian assistance and highlighting the need for concerted, comprehensive work on the political challenges in the country. Commissioner Christos Stylianides will open the event and HRVP Mogherini will deliver the closing remarks.
  • The crisis in Syria remains a top priority for the European Union. The EU, represented by HRVP Mogherini and Commissioner Stylianides, will host a high-level meeting on Thursday, 21 September, to keep the international community’s response to the Syrian crisis and its work for a negotiated end to the conflict at the top of the international agenda. Following up on the 2017 Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, the focus will be on support inside Syria, from humanitarian assistance to resilience and stabilisation efforts, as well as support to neighbouring countries.    
  • Under the umbrella of the EU-Africa year 2017 and in the run up to the African Union – EU Summit due to take place in Abidjan in November 2017, EU representatives will participate in a series of events to take the partnership between the two continents forward. This includes an event on the European External Investment Plan on Wednesday, 20 September, co-hosted by the EU and the UNDP, where the EU will be represented by the HRVP Mogherini, Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Mimica and the President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer.

First Vice-President Timmermans, alongside President Tusk and HRVP Mogherini, will be opening the annual EU reception on Tuesday, 19 September, which will be dedicated to the Erasmus programme and a youth networking event. 

As well as a highly charged bilateral agenda, EU representatives will participate in several other events, on issues such as climate change, migration, security and development, and the prevention of terrorism.

First Vice-President Timmermans will be representing the EU at the joint EU – United Arab Emirates event on oceans and climate, as well as the Bloomberg Global Business Forum Panel on Climate Change and Migration. Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete will be hosting a ministerial-level meeting on climate change on Sunday, 17 September. 

Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will be addressing the UN-hosted event marking the first anniversary of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, and will deliver a keynote speech on the prevention of terrorist use of the Internet on Wednesday, 20 September.

The entire agenda of the individual EU representatives can be found on their websites.

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