Peter Thomson, President of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly

Past Presidents

71st Session: Peter Thomson

Portrait of H. E. Peter Thomson, President of the United Nations General Assembly’s 71st session. UN Photo/Mark Garten

Peter Thomson was elected President of the 71st session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 June 2016. At the time of his election, he was Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (since February 2010), and was serving concurrently as Fiji’s Ambassador to Cuba (since 2011).

Mr. Peter Thomson presided the General Assembly’s 71st session from 13 September 2016 to 11 September 2017.

Also on 13 June 2016, the General Assembly elected 21 Vice-Presidents for the 71st session:

from the African States: Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Mauritania, Nigeria and Zambia;
from the Asian-Pacific States: Bangladesh, Nepal, Solomon Islands and Turkmenistan;
from the Eastern European States: Armenia;
from the Latin American and Caribbean States: Bahamas, Belize and El Salvador;
from the Western European and Other States: Belgium and Germany;
the five permanent members of the Security Council: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.

Priorities

H.E. Peter Thomson, as President of the 71st session of the General Assembly, had the following four key priorities:

Inspiring initiatives, partnerships and action to drive the SDGs implementation
Advancing an integrated approach to peace, human rights and sustainable development
Fostering a UN General Assembly based on ethics, transparency, inclusiveness and effectiveness
Facilitating a smooth transition and a strong start for the next UN Secretary-General

Statements

Note: All statements below are in .PDF

Letters

April 2017

Working level Water dialogue (28 April)
Invitation for side event at first thematic session on refugees and migrants in Geneva (28 April)
United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (27 April)
List of stakeholders for the special accreditation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (26 April)
Improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in persons (26 April)
UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (25 April)
GA Revitalization (25 April)
Health issues in the context of SDG 3 (25 April)
SDG Action Event: Education (24 April)
Global compact for migration (24 April)
Participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives (21 April)
Appointment of Co-Chairs for Partnerships Dialogue at Ocean Conference (21 April)
Aligning GA and ECOSOC on 2030 Agenda (20 April)
UNDRIP (20 April)
25th anniversary of the assassination of Judge Giovanni Falcone (18 April)
First draft Accreditation and participation of intergovernmental at Ocean Conference (13 April)
SDG Financing Lab (13 April)
CT Report briefing to General Assembly (12 April)
Mother Earth Day (12 April)
SDG Action event on Innovation and Connectivity (11 April)
Consultation process concerning the ways to enable the participation of Indigenous Peoples (11 April)
Global compact for migration (11 April)
Memo of meeting with President of the Security Council for month of April (10 April)
Memo of meeting with President of ECOSOC (10 April)
The Ocean Conference – Zero draft of Call for Action (10 April)
UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (10 April)
High-Level Event to mark the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (10 April)
PGA briefings on SDGs and Famine Crisis (10 April)
Appointment of SG for migration conference (6 April )
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (6 April )
The Ocean Conference – Partnership dialogues (6 April )
UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (5 April )
Letter to member states on GA formal meeting-Agenda iten 131 (3 April )
GA Revitalization (3 April )

March 2017

Food for Thought from the Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform (31 March)
Summary of the High-level Dialogue on Building Sustainable Peace for All (29 March)
Security Council Reform (27 March)
Synergies between work of GA and ECOSOC in light of 2030 Agenda (24 March)
HLM on the UN Global Plan of Action (23 March)
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (21 March)
SDG Action Event: Climate Change & SDGs (17 March)
Intl Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (15 March)
Programme for dialogue to discuss work of UN on water-related goals and targets (13 March)
Zero Draft of Call for Action to supoprt implementation of SDG 14 (10 March)
SDG Action Event – SDG Financing Lab (8 March)
Meeting with the President of the Security Council for the month of March 2017 (7 March)
HL Event to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (7 March)
Appointment of Co-Chairs for Oceans and the Law of the Sea (6 March)
Synergies between work of GA and ECOSOC in light of 2030 Agenda (1 March)

February 2017

Ad Hoc Working Group on the revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly (28 February)
The Ocean Conference (24 February)
World Wildlife Day (24 February)
Security Council reform (23 February)
Dates of election for June 2017 (21 February)
HLM to combat trafficking in persons (20 February)
Counter-Terrorism (16 February)
Dates of UN elections (16 February)
10th anniversary of adoption of International Convention for Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (16 February)
Consultation process concerning the ways to enable the participation of indigenous peoples (16 February)
SDG Action Events Climate Change and SDGs (14 February)
10th anniversary of adoption of International Convention for Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (10 February)
High-Level SDG Action Events (8 February)
List of approved stakeholders for the ocean conference (8 February)
Dialogue on improving the coordination of UN on water-related goals (7 February)
Invitation World Wildlife Day (6 February)
Letter from the Secretary-General on UNRWA (6 February)
Meeting between the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council (3 February)
Synergies between the work of the GA and ECOSOC on 2030 Agenda (3 February)
Meeting with President of Security Council for February (3 February)
Implementing UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (3 February)
Informal briefing on preparations for G20-Summit (2 February)

January 2017

Informal meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the mandate on children and armed conflict (31 January)
List of intergovernmental organizations for the Ocean Conference (30 January)
List of stakeholders recommended for special accreditation for the Ocean Conference (30 January)
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (30 January)
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (26 January)
International legally-binding instrument under UN Convention on Law of the Sea (24 January)
Preparatory Meeting of the Ocean Conference (24 January)
Indigenous peoples’ participation at UN (23 January)
10th anniversary of adoption of International Convention for Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (23 January)
High-Level Dialogue on Building Sustainable Peace for All (22 January)
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (19 January)
Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (19 January)
Steering Committee on partnerships for SIDS (17 January)
Annual Inter-Parliamentary Hearings (IPU) (17 January)
Event at ECOSOC Youth Forum with EWEC (17 January)
Meeting with President of Security Council for January (16 January)
Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform (12 January)
Appointment of co-moderators: water-related goals and targets (12 January)
Appointment of co-facilitators: Trafficking in persons (10 January)
HL event – Building Sustainable Peace for all (10 January)
20th anniversary of the mandate on Children and Armed Conflict (10 January)
Briefing by co-chairs of forum on science, tech and innovation for the SDGs (9 January)
Ocean conference – letter to civil society (5 January)

December 2016

Revised notes of lunch with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (30 December)
Meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (28 December)
Memo: meeting with President of ECOSOC (23 December)
Consultation process indigenous peoples’ issues (23 December)
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Advisory Group (23 December)
Modalities for global migration (22 December)
Appointment of Co-facilitators for alignment of work of GA and ECOSOC on 2030 Agenda (22 December)
Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (21 December)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration (21 December)
Meeting with President of Security Council for December (15 December)
Plenary meeting of the General Assembly under agenda item 31 (Prevention of Armed Conflict) (8 December)
High-level dialogue on building Sustainable Peace for All (6 December)
Consultation process concerning the ways to enable the participation of indigenous peoples (2 December)

November 2016

Informal briefing on Sustainable Finance (28 November)
Informal briefing of the General Assembly on the United Nations’ New Approach to Cholera in Haiti (23 November)
Intergovernmental negotiations leading to the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (23 November)
Briefing on the Ocean Conference (22 November)
10th anniversary of adoption of Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (21 November)
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (15 November)
Meeting with Vice President of ECOSOC (14 November)
Meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (9 November)
Meeting with the President of the International Court of Justice (8 November)
Briefing on the strategy of the Office of the President of the General Assembly to support SDG implementation during the 71st session (3 November)
Briefing on UN system coordination on outbreaks and health emergencies (3 November)
Top ten providers of assessed contributions to United Nations budget and of voluntary contributions to the United Nations funds, programmes and agencies (3 November)
Preparatory meeting on the Ocean Conference (3 November)
Meeting with the President of Security Council for November (2 November)
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (1 November)

October 2016

Tenth anniversary of adoption of Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (28 October)
Security Council Reform plenary and Co-Chairs Appointment (26 October)
Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (24 October)
United Nations Ocean Conference (24 October)
AHWG on GA Revitalization (24 October)
Consultation Process: Indigenous Peoples (18 October)
Informal briefing on the situation of Syria (14 October)
Letter on DSG’s briefing on Haiti (13 October)
Informal meeting of the plenary with the Secretary-General-designate (13 October)
Appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (11 October)
Appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (7 October)
50th anniversary: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (6 October)
Meeting with President of ECOSOC (6 October)
Meeting with President of Security Council for October (3 October)
Handover Report from PGA 70 (3 October)

September 2016

Next Secretary-General Selection: Nomination of new candidate [Bulgaria] (29 September)
Vision Statement of Next Secretary-General Candidate of Bulgaria: Kristalina Georgieva (29 September)
Consultations process : Indigenous peoples (28 September)
SG Appointment process (23 September)
UN Secretariat and IOC partnership (21 September)
HLM on Antimicrobial Resistance (20 September)
Right to Development (20 September)
HLM on Antimicrobial Resistance (19 September)
Update to the Special Report on the financial crisis facing UNRWA (19 September)
High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (15 September)
HLM on Antimicrobial Resistance
List of Speakers – Round Tables – HLM on Refugees and Migrants (15 September)
Provisional Lists of Speakers No. 2 – Plenary – HLM on Refugees and Migrants (15 September)

Team

H.E. Peter Thomson, President
H.E. Tomas Anker Christensen, Chef de Cabinet
Ms. Sofia Borges, Special Adviser (Strategic Engagement and Transparency)
Mr. Ioannis Vrailas, Special Adviser (Political Issues)
Ms. Dessima Williams, Special Adviser(Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals)
Mr. Francis Akali Oloo, Team support (Political issues) - [December 2016 – May 2017]
Mr. Kamal Amakrane, Director
Mr. Manoj Basnyat, Senior Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals)
Mr. Mohammed Al-Buainain, Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals)
Mr. Ammar Al-Durra, Senior Adviser (Humanitarian Issues)
Ms. Joyce Fan, Administrative Assistant
Ms. Tanisha Hewanpola, Speechwriter
Ms. Ambreen Husain, Team Support (Political Issues)
Ms. Katharina Kandt, Adviser (Communications and Digital Media)
Ms. Elina Lemmetty-Hartoneva, Senior Adviser (Stakeholder participation and Fifth Committee)
Mr. Mateus Luemba, Senior Adviser (Indigenous Peoples and Fourth Committee
Ms. Giovanna Maselli, Team Support (Sustainable Development)
Mr. Michael McManus, Special Assistant to the Chef de Cabinet
Ms. Albena Melin, Senior Adviser (SDG Finance)
Mr. Abdelghani Merabet, Senior Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals and Second Committee)
Mr. Oyama Mgobozi, Senior Adviser (Peace and Security)
Ms. Lenka Miháliková, Senior Adviser (Peace and Security and First Committee)
Ms. Sonja Niehoff, Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals)
Ms. Evelyne Ojwang, Administrative Assistant
Ms. Harriet Osias, Personal Assistant to the President
Mr. Tomás Pico, Deputy-Communications Director and Deputy-Spokesperson - [September 2016 – June 2017]
Ms. Naomi Parekh, Adviser on Communications
Ms. Signe Schelde Poulsen, Special Assistant to the President
Mr. Stefan Quiroga Fajardo, Consultant
Ms. Tracy Raczek, Senior Adviser (Partnerships and Outreach)
Mr. Danny Rahdiansyah, Senior Adviser (Peace and Security, GA Revitalization and First Committee)
Ms. Gabrielle Rajkumar, Staff Assistant - [September – December 2016]
Mr. Ramis Şen, Senior Adviser (Human rights & humanitarian issues)
Mr. Sergio Shcherbakov, Adviser, Sustainable Development Goals - [September 2016 – March 2017]
Ms. Francella Strickland, Senior Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals)
Mr. Alejandro Sousa, Senior Legal Adviser
Ms. Meena Syed, Senior Adviser (SG Selection and Security Council Reform) - [September – December 2016]
Mr. Suljuk Mustansar Tarar, Senior Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals)
Mr. Dan Thomas, Communications Director and Spokesperson
Ms. Jullyette Ukabiala, Senior Adviser (Political Affairs)
Mr. Zhang Yi, Senior Adviser (Sustainable Development Goals)
Mr. Fernando Zelner, Senior Adviser (SDG Finance and Fifth Committee)
Ms. Jessica Zheng, Team Support (Sustainable Development Goals) - [September 2016 – February 2017]

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Past Presidents

71st Session: Peter Thomson

Priorities

Inspiring initiatives, partnerships and action to drive the SDGs implementation

Advancing an integrated approach to peace, human rights and sustainable development

Fostering a UN General Assembly based on ethics, transparency, inclusiveness and effectiveness

Facilitating a smooth transition and a strong start for the next UN Secretary-General

Statements

February 2017

January 2017

December 2016

November 2016

October 2016

September 2016

June 2016

Letters

April 2017

March 2017

February 2017

January 2017

December 2016

November 2016

October 2016

September 2016

Team

Multimedia

President

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