UNITED NATIONS (AA) - Every third Tuesday in September, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meets in for a plenary session. For almost a full week, the current 68th Session of the UNGA will gather around 130 heads of states from all over the world, including US President Barack Obama, for the most prominent political parade in New York City.
The presence of presidents, kings, sheiks, prime and foreign ministers will intensify the pressure on the New York Police Department (NYPD). Several thousands New York City police will have to coordinate more than 200 motorcades on the ways to the UN and other locations in the city where the gatherings will take place.
During the UNGA session all major New York hotels, which are entirely booked, have their official price-list. Adis Dervisevic, one of the managers at New York’s “The Mandarin” hotel told AA, their cheapest room is lited at 995 USD per night. Their pricey suite, costing 28,000 USD per night, was reserved by Malaysia this year.
“As of yesterday (Sunday) we are 100 percent full, and as far as we know -- most of the other New York’s hotels are operating at full capacity as well,” Mr. Dervisevic noted. He said they have guests from Uganda, Rwanda, Jordan, Swaziland and Nigeria, but refused to share how much they pay per night.
According to Sahara Reporters, Nigeria - which has failed to focus on implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) - will have a record 600 delegates at the 68th General Assembly in New York.
“Members of the Nigerian delegation will be the only partly in our hotel, because they have a huge delegation,” the manager at “Mandarin” hotel said.
Most members of the delegation from Lagos (capitol of Nigeria) are 547 civil servants drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as advance team members who arrived in New York earlier to make preparations for the trip of the President, the same media source reported.
The Nigerian delegation is by far the largest of any nation at this year's main UN events at UNGA.
The smallest national delegations will only be represented by their diplomatic representatives in the UN.
- "Press Island” and new restrictions
“More than 2000 accredited reporters from all over the world will be covering this year's 68th UNGA, which is more than last year,” Elisabeth Brower, chief of the UN Media, Accreditation and Liaison Office told AA. This figure does not include already accredited UN correspondents and hundreds of New York based reporters, including those from AA.
“For the reporters we have prepared a traditional ‘press island’ on the edge of First Avenue and the main entrance to the UN,” Brower said, adding most major global TV Networks would be there for the UNGA session's first week.
Yet, “journalists have to be ready for the professional bravado,” as one Reuters’ reporter told AA. Reporters still “may face an array of unexpected and ad hoc restrictions” by the NYPD and UN security on their movement, he added.
-- New York will earn big again
The residents in the UN's neighborhood say they are again annoyed as in previous years. Police placed large white concrete barricades with blue NYPD signs on First Avenue and 42nd Street. The UN neighborhood is essentially sealed off since the always crowded First Avenue is closed off to traffic between 42nd and 47th.
Residents complained to reporters, saying all the heightened security measures "cost New York’s taxpayers a fortune.”
The citizens cannot expect any security relaxation as the lockdown will worsen as the week progresses.
While the security cost of the UNGA 68th Session remains unannounced, it is expected to be within the figures given almost every year by City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. Security for the General Assembly usually costs between 5 million to 7 million USD. Meanwhile, New York City is expected to benefit financially from this year's UN General Assembly by at least a couple billion dollars.
The UN General Assembly was established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations. It is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the world body. The General Assembly is composed of all 193 member states of the UN and meets regularly, intensively from September until the end of the year and thereafter as required.
Reporting by Erol Avdovic
englishnews@aa.com.tr
