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Press Statement of the Ministerial Meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism

25.09.2020 - Press release

The Alliance met at ministerial level on the occasion of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2020, one year after the presentation of the Alliance for Multilateralism during the ministerial week of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 26 September 2019.

Over the past year, the Alliance for Multilateralism met four times to:

  • promote improved governance for the digital world. The Alliance bolstered support for the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace and supported the launch of the “International Partnership for Information and Democracy” at the Paris Peace Forum on 12 November 2019, as well as the creation of a working group to combat infodemics, following the COVID-19 crisis;
  • promote implementation of international humanitarian law, protect the work of humanitarian workers and space for humanitarian action and support the fight against impunity, at the opening of the session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 24 February 2020;
  • support the central role of the World Health Organization in the management of COVID-19 and put forward proposals for the reform of the multilateral health architecture at two meetings on 16 April 2020 and 26 June 2020.

At the meeting of 25 September 2020, participants reaffirmed their commitment to defending and promoting an international order based on rules and cooperation. Further participants in the Alliance endorsed its principles of action, first presented on 26 September 2019, which explain its objectives and its mode of working. Participants highlighted their determination to contribute to “building back better” the world and multilateral institutions following the COVID-19 crisis and focused on four areas:

  • climate: participants presented concrete initiatives, such as the International Solar Alliance and the joint position on climate and security, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, aiming at maintaining action of the international community five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement;
  • health: impulses generated in the Alliance for Multilateralism on bolstering the multilateral health architecture are being taken forward in liaison with WHO. Participants presented initiatives to promote access for all to vaccines, including ACT-A. They underlined the need to better take into account the links between human and animal health and ecosystems, in line with the One Health approach;
  • digital technology: participants discussed the digital response to the COVID-19 crisis and stressed the importance of reducing inequalities of access to digital technology and combating infodemics;
  • gender equality: participants underlined the urgent need to remobilize the international community to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, 25 years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action. The Generation Equality Forum was presented as an opportunity to promote tangible actions on gender-based violence, economic justice and rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, feminist action for climate justice, technology and innovation for gender equality.

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