UN General Assembly, ADVISORY
In 2020, which marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the annual high-level meeting of world leaders around the U.N. General Assembly will be very different from years past because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Leaders will not be traveling to the United Nations in New York for their addresses, which will be prerecorded. Most events related to the gathering will be held virtually. No access to world leaders on the U.N. grounds will be possible, therefore, and access to most anything will be extremely curtailed.
The AP plans all-formats coverage from Monday, Sept. 21 through Tuesday, Sept. 29, and selected events in the days following that. For detailed, up-to-the-minute plans, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org
Here’s a preliminary look at AP’s planned coverage. Please note that because of the nature of the meetings this year, this schedules of both stories and speakers are subject to change. This advisory will be updated with additional plans.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 19:
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
UNITED NATIONS — With the COVID-19 pandemic still circling the globe, world leaders are skipping their annual gathering in New York and will make pre-recorded speeches on the state of a deeply divided world turned topsy-turvy. Says U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis unlike any in our lifetimes, and so this year’s General Assembly session will be unlike any other, too.” By Edith M. Lederer. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 20:
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY-UN AT 75
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations prepares to commemorate its 75th anniversary with the scourge of pandemic hanging over its head, its lifeblood of multilateralism under threat and the encroaching menace of climate change an ever-present worry. By Edith M. Lederer. UPCOMING: 900 words and photos.
MONDAY, SEPT. 21:
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. marks its 75th anniversary with a slate of mostly virtual events. By Edith M. Lederer. UPCOMING: 900 words and photos.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 22:
— Speeches by leaders on the first day of general debate include those from the United States, China, Russia, Brazil, Iran, South Korea, Nigeria and Egypt.
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.'s first virtual meeting of world leaders gets underway with remote, virus-distanced speeches from some of the planet's biggest powers — the United States, China and Russia among them. By Edith M. Lederer. UPCOMING: 900 words and photos.
WITH:
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY-TRUMP: Weeks before the day that Americans will decide whether he serves a second term, President Donald Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly, most likely by prerecorded remote video.
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY-BRAZIL: Brazil’s polemical president, Jair Bolsonaro, will get the first word at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday when he kicks off the event. We will cover any news he makes – in particular regarding COVID-19 and his handling of Amazon rainforest destruction.
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY-NO HUMAN TOUCH
The halls will be mostly empty. The screens will be full -- of leaders who took no planes to convene but, instead, recorded messages in the safety and isolation of their home countries and their offices. Pandemic-era diplomatic gatherings might be safer. They might even be more efficient. What they are not, however, is intimate and nuanced and filled with opportunities for breakthroughs. Without those things, how does diplomacy fare? By Ted Anthony. UPCOMING: 900 words and photos.
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23:
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY-VENEZUELA
Last year, delegations representing Venezuela’s dueling presidents nimbly dodged each other while making the rounds at the UN General Assembly. What a difference 12 months can make. Nicolás Maduro remains firmly in power and opposition leader Juan Guaidó has lost his steam. The virtual format of this year’s events will put that shift in sharp relief. Though wanted in the U.S., there won’t be anything stopping Maduro from speaking this year. And Guaidó’s allies are likely to have a far smaller presence.
VIDEO:
All speeches throughout the U.N. General Assembly are expected to be carried live. Broadcast and online edits of individual speakers will be expedited.
PHOTOS:
Scene photos will be gathered by AP in and around the U.N. complex. U.N. photo pool coverage is expected from inside the General Assembly during this largely virtual event.