On Thursday, September 21, Minister Lipavský delivered a national speech on the Secretary-General's reform efforts and the upcoming Future Summit. At the General Assembly, minister Lipavský also addressed support for Ukraine and respect for human rights in the digital environment.

During the session, the Czech delegation advocated for support for Ukraine and punishment of Russia for waging war against Ukraine. President Petr Pavel, who led the delegation, delivered a national statement to both the General Assembly and the Security Council.

"I appreciate that the President stressed that the world can not turn a blind eye to Russian aggression and that security in Ukraine translates into security in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific. I am glad that Czech foreign policy is once again speaking with a united voice," the Minister said.

A key theme of the week was also the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Other important topics included climate change, UN reform, respect for human rights in the digital environment and international cooperation in response to pandemics. Minister Lipavský stressed the need to strengthen the principle of multilateralism.

"We cannot deal with global problems alone - we must work together. Recently, questions have been raised about whether we still need the UN. I am convinced that we do. We want to be an active part of it and that is why the Czechia is running for a non-permanent membership of the Security Council for the period 2032-2033," said Minister Lipavský.

During the week in New York, the Czech diplomatic chief held a number of bilateral meetings. Together with his counterpart Robert Alvarez from the Dominican Republic, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday. He also met with representatives of Jewish organisations, attended an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers and addressed a meeting of the International Advisory Board of the Atlantic Council.

On the sidelines of the General Assembly, the Minister also signed the Global Declaration on Information On-line and spoke on a panel of the Internet Freedom On-line Coalition convened by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Czechia is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of digital technologies. The Minister presented the resolution that the Czechia will present on this topic at the upcoming session of the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly.