EU advances key priorities on children's online rights, climate, security, humanitarian aid and global partnerships at the 81st UN General Assembly
Yesterday, President von der Leyen, President Costa and High Representative/Vice-President Kallas represented the EU at the Opening Session of the 81st United General Assembly. President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a speech at the launch of the Coalition for Children's Rights and Protection in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, which you can read here. The EU Kids Act tabled last week will protect children online and put parents back in the driving seat. With this Coalition, Europe is now joining forces to preserve childhoods globally.
High Representative/Vice-President Kallas co-hosted the High-Level Side Event on ‘Global Food Security and the Black Sea'. Read her opening remarks here. Commissioner Dubravka Šuica delivered a speech at the event 'Strengthening information integrity and freedom of expression in the Mediterranean: An EU-UNESCO partnership'. Commissioner Lahbib delivered a statement at a Ministerial roundtable on the protection of civilians which you can read here.
Today, in the morning, at 10:00 EDT (16:00 CEST), President Ursula von der Leyen will co-host a pledging event for the OceanEye International Alliance, together with the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney. In partnership with UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the World Meteorological Organization, the event will mobilise financial and in-kind pledges to support ocean observation systems. Commissioner Costas Kadis will deliver closing remarks. You can watch their speeches live on EBS. Later in the day, at 15:00 EDT (21:00 CEST), President von der Leyen and Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will participate in the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Event on Climate Action and the Just Transition.
Also this morning, High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas will co-chair the EU-CELAC Ministerial Meeting together with the Foreign Minister of Uruguay. Commissioners Jozef Síkela and Hadja Lahbib will also participate. She will co-host a Ministerial-level Side Event on ‘Reinforcing cooperation to achieve a secure and stable maritime domain', together with Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The high-level event will provide an opportunity to discuss topics, such as freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the protection of seafarers and critical maritime infrastructure. At 10:45 EDT (16:45 CEST), HR/VP Kallas will take part in a UN Security Council stakeout on Ukraine with 27 EU Member States, Ukraine and like-minded partners. In the afternoon, she will host an EU-Western Balkans Leaders meeting. She will then co-chair a Ministerial Climate Security Discussion, with the UK and Kenya.
In the morning, Commissioner Šuica will co-host the High-Level policy dialogue ‘Moving Beyond Crisis: Investing in Development from Day One', with UNDP Administrator, Alexander de Croo, where she will announce financial support to Lebanon. The Commissioner will then attend the high-level briefing of the Board of Peace. The Commissioner will also participate in the high-level event ‘Call to Action for the Palestinian Children' alongside Commissioner Hadja Lahbib. Commissioner Šuica will then co-host the high-level roundtable on women's economic empowerment in the MENA region to launch the EU-UN Women Regional Initiative on surging women's employment in MENA by 5% by 2030. Later, the Commissioner, jointly with UNICEF Executive Director and UNDP Administrator, will sign two early recovery contracts for Gaza, delivering on the Team Gaza Initiative. Later, the Commissioner will co-chair the high-level roundtable ‘On Gaza recovery: From Sharm El Sheikh to Phase II – Consolidating Peace and early recovery', with Germany, France and Egypt.
Commissioner Lahbib will deliver a statement on behalf of the EU at the high-level panel discussions on the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. She will then take part in ‘The Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for a Durable Solution from Protracted Displacement, with Justice and Accountability', where she will deliver a statement. The Commissioner will deliver opening remarks in the high-level event ‘Call to Action for the Palestinian Children'. Later, Commissioner Lahbib will deliver opening remarks at ‘Humanitarian Diplomacy in Practice: Diplomacy as Enablers of Humanitarian Action'. The Commissioner will deliver a statement on behalf of the EU in the event on the Political Declaration on the Protection of Aid Workers, and attend the G20 Ministerial event ‘Accelerating Collective Action to Defeat Ebola'.
Commissioner Síkela will participate in the G7 Ministerial Meeting. In the afternoon, he will take part in the Global Partnership for Education's high-level replenishment event, where he will reconfirm the EU's commitment to the partnership, including a €200 million contribution for 2026-2027. He will also announce two European Union contributions to the United Nations system. Together with Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed, he will announce the EU's support to the Resident Coordinator system. He will also join the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, for the signing of the EU contribution to promote human rights and combat impunity.
Commissioner Hoekstra will participate in The B Team and Corporate Leaders Group's business and leader engagement on the clean transition, followed by a ministerial lunch on progress ahead of COP31.
Commissioner Kadis will participate in the Leaders' event on the 30x30 target.
Commissioner Magnus Brunner will attend the event ‘Pathways to Global Opportunity: Linking Development Investments to Labour Mobility'. Later, he will have a meeting with the World Jewish Congress and will participate in the Ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism.
Commissioner Tzitzikostas will participate in the Skift Global Forum, where he will deliver a keynote speech on tourism, in the presence of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. In the evening, the Commissioner will attend the Atlantic Council's Global Citizen Awards 2026, an event recognising the accomplishments of global citizens seeking to improve the state of the world.