Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb to attend the UN General Assembly
Press Release 269/2010
20 September 2010
Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb will travel to New York for the opening week of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly on 21–24 September. Minister Stubb will act as the Vice Chair of the Finnish delegation to the General Assembly, which is led by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen.
During the UN week, Minister Stubb and Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, will together host a ministerial-level seminar on peace mediation for invited guests. Aside from the Foreign Ministers of Member States active in peace mediation, the seminar will have high-level representation from the principal regional organizations and the UN Secretariat. President Martti Ahtisaari will give a speech at the seminar. The goal of the seminar is to create a basis for further measures that strengthen the UN peace mediation efforts and help formulate a General Assembly Resolution advancing these efforts.
Inspired by the idea of Foreign Minister Stubb and the Finnish hip-hop artist Signmark (Marko Vuoriheimo), who performs in Sign Language, Finland will arrange a seminar focusing on the rights of people with disability, in particular the status of people communicating in Sign Language. Moreover, Minister Stubb will participate in the public event Silent Shout held by Signmark in Washington Square, New York. The purpose of these events is to promote tolerance, equality and respect for difference.
In addition, Minister Stubb’s programme for the UN week includes the UN Secretary-General’s high-level meeting on disarmament, the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) ministerial meeting, the transatlantic meeting of Foreign Ministers hosted by the United States, and a Nordic meeting of Foreign Ministers. Minister Stubb will also host a Nordic lunch for the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and will attend meetings that the EU Member States will have with ministers from the United States and Russia. In addition, the Foreign Minister will have many bilateral meetings with ministers from various countries.
Additional information: Päivi Pohjanheimo, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5332, mobile tel. +358 40 511 3786, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5012, mobile tel. +358 40 732 8340, and Katri Viinikka, Head of the Unit for UN and General Global Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 753 2730