U.N. using honor system to check vaccinations for meeting

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly is relying on an honor system — and only an honor system — to ensure that world leaders have been vaccinated before they speak at this week’s big meeting, the assembly pres- ident said.

Presidents, premiers, mon- archs and other dignitaries won’t have to show vaccination cards or other proof of inoculation — they’ll simply attest to it by swiping their ID badges at the assembly hall, G.A. President Abdulla Sha- hid said in a letter Thursday. The assembly began testing the same policy in June for diplomats at its day-to-day meetings.

Still, it could quickly raise thorny questions at the big- gest global diplomatic gathering of the year. Russia has criticized the requirement, and the first speaker, Brazil- ian President Jair Bolsonaro, isn’t vaccinated and reiterated Thursday that he doesn’t plan to get the shot anytime soon.

The U.N. has been wrestling with how to implement — dip- lomatically — a New York City vaccination requirement for convention centers, which the city said would apply to the assembly hall. Shahid told members Tuesday he supported the policy but didn’t give details on how it would work.

“We very much hope that this solution is acceptable to all, within the confines of everyone’s responsibilities and status,” U.N. spokesper- son Stephane Dujarric said Friday.

A message sent to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office wasn’t immediately returned. He has said the city’s aim is to protect both assembly attendees and New Yorkers from the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the assembly’s toplevel annual meeting to go almost entirely virtual last year.

Leaders seem to have missed the opportunity to interact face to face: More than 100 heads of state and government and over 20 foreign ministers have signed up to speak in person this time.