Scope, Modalities, Format and Organization of the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response

A/RES/77/275View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 128Global health and foreign policy, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 2023–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/333

2025A/RES/79/333Scope, modalities, format and organization of the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and ResponseLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/275Scope, modalities, format and organization of the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response

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What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Conferences Disease Prevention Pandemics

What does this mandate say?

22 operative paragraphs

Decides that the one-day high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to be convened by the President of the General Assembly in collaboration with the World Health Organization shall be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 20 September 2023, on the second day of the general debate of the Assembly at its seventy-eighth session, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and shall consist of an opening segment, a plenary segment for general discussion, two multi-stakeholder panels and a brief closing segment;

Also decides that the goal of the high-level meeting is to further mobilize political momentum, including through the integration of a multisectoral approach towards pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, given the multifaceted consequences of pandemics;

Further decides that:

The one-day high-level meeting shall provide for the full and effective participation of all Member States and members of the United Nations specialized agencies;

The opening segment, to be held from 10 to 10.30 a.m., will feature statements of the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session, the Secretary-General, the Director General of the World Health Organization, the President of the World Bank Group, as well as an eminent high-level champion of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, selected in consultation with Member States by the President of the General Assembly, giving due consideration to gender balance and level of development and geographical representation;

The plenary segment, to be held from 10.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., will comprise statements by Member States and members of the United Nations specialized agencies, and the time limits for these statements will be three minutes for individual delegations and five minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States;

The closing segment, to be held from 5.30 to 6 p.m., will comprise summaries of the multi-stakeholder panels and concluding remarks by the President of the General Assembly;

Decides that the organizational arrangements for the two multi-stakeholder panels will be as follows:

Two multi-stakeholder panels will be held in parallel to the plenary segment, one from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the other from 3 to 5 p.m.;

Each of the two multi-stakeholder panels will be co-chaired by two representatives, one from a developed country and one from a developing country, to be appointed by the President of the General Assembly from among the Heads of State or Government attending the high-level meeting, in consultation with Member States, taking into account gender balance, level of development and geographical representation;

The themes of the multi-stakeholder panels will take into consideration the direction and outcomes of preceding and ongoing pandemic prevention, preparedness and response processes and initiatives, as well as the interactive multi-stakeholder hearing, with a view to ensuring the most effective and efficient outcomes and potential deliverables and to sharing experiences and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks to address remaining implementation gaps;

The President of the General Assembly may invite parliamentarians, local governments, the heads or senior representatives of relevant United Nations entities, including the World Health Organization, international financial institutions, development partners, civil society, the private sector, academia, medical, health and scientific associations, Indigenous Peoples, representative organizations of persons with disabilities and community organizations to serve as speakers on the panels, taking into account gender balance, level of development, geographical representation and the representation of youth and older persons;

Also decides that the high-level meeting shall approve a concise and action-oriented political declaration on, inter alia, mobilizing political will at the national, regional and international levels for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, agreed in advance by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations, informed by and aligned with the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body and of the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005), to be submitted by the President of the General Assembly for adoption by the Assembly;

Requests the President of the General Assembly, with the support of the World Health Organization and other relevant partners, to organize and preside over an interactive multi-stakeholder hearing, no later than June 2023, with the active participation of appropriate senior-level representatives of Member States and members of the United Nations specialized agencies, observers of the General Assembly, parliamentarians, representatives of local government, relevant United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, invited civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations, academia, medical associations, the private sector and broader communities, ensuring the participation and voices of women, children, youth and Indigenous Peoples, as part of the preparatory process for the high-level meeting, and also requests the President to prepare a summary of the hearing prior to the high-level meeting;

Encourages all Member States and members of the United Nations specialized agencies to participate in the high-level meeting, including the multi-stakeholder panels, at the highest possible level, preferably at the level of Heads of State and Government, and invites all observers of the General Assembly to be represented at the highest possible level;

Invites the United Nations system, including funds, programmes and specialized agencies, including the World Health Organization, regional commissions and relevant envoys of the Secretary-General, to participate in the high-level meeting, as appropriate, and urges them to consider initiatives in support of the preparatory process and the high-level meeting, particularly with regard to sharing evidence and good practices, challenges and lessons learned;

Also invites non-governmental organizations with relevant expertise that are in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to register with the Secretariat to attend the high-level meeting and participate in the multi-stakeholder panels and the interactive multi-stakeholder hearing;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to draw up a list of representatives of other relevant non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector who may participate in the high-level meeting, including its panel discussions, taking into account the principles of transparency and equitable geographical representation, with due regard for gender parity, to submit the proposed list to Member States for their consideration on a non-objection basis and to bring the list to the attention of the Assembly for a final decision by the Assembly on participation in the high-level meeting;

Invites members of civil society, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academia, development partners and other relevant stakeholders to make a fundamental contribution to the process in terms of raising awareness of the importance of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response as a key component of universal health coverage and its contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, among others;

Encourages Member States and members of the United Nations specialized agencies to include in their delegations to the high-level meeting ministers from all relevant ministries, as appropriate, as well as representatives such as parliamentarians, mayors and governors, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, representatives of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, community organizations, religious leaders and faith-based organizations, academia, philanthropic foundations, the private sector and pandemic preparedness, prevention and response networks, with due regard to gender balance;

Decides that the proceedings of the high-level meeting and the multi-stakeholder hearing shall be webcast, and encourages the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Director General of the World Health Organization to give the highest visibility to the high-level meeting, through all relevant media platforms and information and communications technologies;

Requests the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session to finalize the organizational arrangements for the high-level meeting, in close consultation with Member States, the World Health Organization and other relevant international organizations, including the overall theme of the high-level meeting and the themes of the multi-stakeholder panels in line with paragraphs 2 and 4 (c) of the present resolution.

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