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UN, 17 Sept, Alan Bulkaty. UN Secretary General António Guterres urged all guests of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly session, which will be held from September 21 to 27, to come vaccinated against the coronavirus whenever possible for delegates. “It is very important that people get vaccinated. And we, thanks to the city of New York, we will provide vaccination opportunities for all delegates who will arrive and want to be vaccinated, «Guterres said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Guterres called for a «future summit» on peace and security «I urge everyone to get vaccinated. This is very important for their health, as well as for the communities of which they are a part, for the General Assembly itself. I hope people will arrive vaccinated, except for those situations when this is impossible, «he added. At the same time, the secretary general of the international organization stressed that he cannot prohibit the leader of any state from entering the territory of the UN headquarters without vaccination. «I in no way can tell the head of state arriving at the UN that if he is not vaccinated, he cannot enter (into the territory of the headquarters — ed.),» Guterres said, adding that he does not have such powers. Earlier, the New York authorities required all delegates and staff who will enter the UN General Assembly Hall for the coming high-level week to provide evidence that they are vaccinated against the coronavirus. The office of the mayor of the city sent a corresponding letter to the chairman of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly Abdullah Shahid. Russia strongly opposed the requirement to let into the hall only people who provided proof of vaccination against coronavirus, calling this approach discriminatory and recalling, among other things, those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. As a result, Shahid wrote a letter to the permanent missions of states to the UN stating that the so-called system based on trust continues to operate in the building — by attaching a pass at the entrance, the delegate confirms that in the last 10 days he had no symptoms of COVID-19, he did not contact with sick virus and he has not been diagnosed with this virus. Read the full text of the interview >>
UN General Assembly calls for cooperation of countries against COVID-19