BRIEFING: 76th UN General Assembly

The two weeks of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) are a key moment in the global calendar for advocacy groups to create awareness, debate and media attention on critical issues relating to the SDGs, climate, human rights and development.

Our latest brief from the Secretariat of the Global Mental Health Action Network outlines the main issues likely to be discussed at UNGA and some of the key events as well as opportunities for members to get involved.

This year, the theme of the 76th General Assembly is Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations. The official work plan of the General Assembly is laid-out in the months preceding UNGA and typically includes UN administrative issues as well as debates on policy issues.

Apart from the official agenda and Special Sessions there is an informal agenda of priority issues that will likely dominate the discussions between member states and other groups and be the focus of seminars and side-events during UNGA.

This year, the key issues will likely include:

• Covid-19 response and vaccine access (including a summit focused on this issue)

• Climate change and the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties

• SDGs and how to accelerate progress

• Geopolitical issues especially Afghanistan

Mental health is not likely to feature heavily in activities around any of these key issues, however, it would be worth GMHAN members tracking discussions on COVID-19 and on the SDGs as these are the most likely to include reference to mental health.

Find out more by reading our full UNGA policy brief.