APHIS Supports the Proclamation of an International Year of Plant Health in 2020

On October 29, 2018, more than 90 participants from 70 United Nations delegations gathered at Finland’s Permanent Mission in New York City to express their support for the proclamation of an International Year of Plant Health in 2020. APHIS Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy, head of the United States’ National Plant Protection Organization, was there.

“The United States strongly supports and will co-sponsor the U.N. resolution to declare 2020 the International Year of Plant Health,” El-Lissy said. “Food security, economic development, environmental protection, and human health all depend on plant health. By dedicating 2020 to plant health protection, we hope to mobilize governments, industries, civic organizations, scientists, and the public to work together in protecting the world’s plants against the spread of devastating pests and diseases.”

Finland tabled the draft resolution in October. The United Nations General Assembly Second Committee will vote on the resolution in November.

To learn more about the International Year of Plant Health, view the factsheet and video.

Read more about the reception at Finland’s Permanent Mission on the International Plant Protection Convention’s website.

 

APHIS Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy (second from the left) expresses support for the proclamation of an International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) in 2020 during a reception at Finland’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations on October 29, 2018. Shown left to right: Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland Ralf Lopian, APHIS Deputy Administrator El-Lissy, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland Jaana Husu-Kallio, Finnish Ambassador Kai Sauer, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore Burhan Gafoor, and International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat Public Information Specialist Mirko Montuori.