President Michael D. Higgins to address United Nations
Date: Fri 20th Sep, 2019 | 14:52
On Monday 23 September President Higgins will travel to New York where he will address the United Nations General Assembly.
The President will also undertake a series of high-level bilateral meetings at the United Nations on 25-27 September.
On Wednesday evening (New York time) President Higgins will deliver Ireland’s national statement to the UN General Assembly and on Friday morning, the President will address a summit reviewing international support for Small Island Developing States.
The President's visit is a significant opportunity to raise Ireland’s profile at the United Nations and to underscore the importance which Ireland attaches to the UN and the multilateral system.
The visit comes as the United Nations host a series of summit meetings on “sustainable development”, reviewing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals agreed in 2015.
In addition to the high-level meetings at the United Nations, President Higgins will attend a number of events with the Irish diaspora in New York. He will deliver keynote addresses at two of New York's universities: At New York University, the President will give an address on linking Ecology, Economy and Society, and at Fordham University the President will focus on "Humanitarianism and the Public Intellectual in Times of Crisis”.
On the final day of his visit to New York, President Higgins will unveil a new sculpture by John Behan, commissioned by the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN, and participate in a public interview in the New York Public Library, moderated by Dan Barry,.
NOTES:
- This will be the fourth visit to New York by President Higgins, following visits in April/May 2012, September 2015 and April 2018.
- In April 2018, President Higgins also addressed the UN General Assembly: https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-addresses-the-un-general-assembly
- The President has also addressed the United Nations on other occasions, including:
- President delivers Keynote Address at ILO World of Work summit (2018)
- President attends World Humanitarian Summit (2016)
- President delivers keynote address at UNCTAD Debt Management Conference (2015)
- President delivers keynote message at UN session on Hunger (2015)