News item | 16-09-2022 | 16:43
Prime Minister Rutte, Minister Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs and Minister Schreinemacher for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation are taking part in the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA). The Kingdom delegation also consists of Prime Minister Wever-Croes of Aruba, Prime Minister Pisas of Curaçao and Prime Minister Jacobs of Sint Maarten.
Prime Minister Rutte will be in New York on Friday 23 September. That day he addresses the UNGA. He also participates in the High-Level Roundtable at the UN 2023 Water Conferences, he has a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and bilateral consultations with various government leaders. In the evening, the Prime Minister will have a dinner with representatives of the Dutch business community in New York.
Minister Hoekstra will be in New York all week. Together with the ministers of Germany, Denmark and Ukraine, he will draw attention to the steps that need to be taken in the field of accountability for Ukraine. He will also speak about the importance of freedom of the press during a meeting that the Netherlands and Canada are organizing about the destabilizing effect of disinformation and, together with Argentina, he will draw attention to the equal rights of LGBTIQ+ people as chairmen of the LGBTI Core Group. He also participates in a meeting on Feminist Foreign Policy.
On Wednesday morning, September 21, Minister Hoekstra will launch an initiative to achieve the responsible use of artificial intelligence in the military domain. In addition, he and Minister Schreinemacher participate that day in a meeting with the UN and the US, among others, in which the salvage operation of the oil storage tanker Safer in Yemen is central. Minister Schreinemacher also attended a UNICEF and UNAIDS meeting on malnutrition, and drew attention to abortion rights at a ‘SheDecides’ meeting. On Thursday, Minister Schreinemacher will organize a meeting on the importance of efficient water use for global food supply.
The Caribbean Countries of the Kingdom take part in various side events that are organized during the week, including those focusing on education, climate, female leadership and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). They also meet with regional colleagues and with UN agencies.
Youth representative Manal Moussane will also travel to New York. During the Transforming Education Summit, she argued, among other things, that the UN should explore the possibility of developing a ‘generation test’ to better understand the impact of the UN’s work on all generations, including those of the future. This is an instrument that is also being explored by various ministries in the Netherlands.