HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MIROSLAV LAJČÁK

United Nations Headquarters, New York

14 September 2017

 

 

HIGH-LEVEL MEETING TO SUPPORT HURRICANE IRMA SURVIVORS

  • The President of the General Assembly, together with the Secretary-General, will co-host a high-level meeting this Monday, 18 September, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, to draw political attention to the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. Link to invitation
  • The meeting will aim to increase solidarity with those affected and highlight the need for building communities that are more resilient to natural disasters and climate change.
  • Information will also be shared on what is being done at the national, regional and global levels to respond to the disaster.  The event will bring together United Nations Member States, United Nations agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Asked if the meeting was meant to be a pledging conference, the Spokesperson said that was not the intended purpose. At the same time, his office had been informed that there was a possibility that some Member States might be making pledges.

 

PRESIDENT MEETS HEAD OF GENEVA OFFICE & ALGERIAN AMBASSADOR

  • In terms of the President’s schedule, he met this morning with the head of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Michael Møller, as well as the Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations.
  • When asked about the topic of the Algeria meeting, the Spokesperson answered that it was a courtesy call requested by the Mission of Algeria.

 

PRESIDENT TO SUBMIT FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORM IN LINE WITH ETHICS & TRANSPARENCY STANDARDS

  • The President met with the United Nations Ethics Office this morning. The purpose was to seek guidance and ensure that everything was on track for him to submit his financial disclosure form before the established deadline of 26 September – in line with his commitment to ethics and transparency.
  • Also, for the sake of transparency, photos and biographical information for the staff of the Office of the President had all been posted at: un.org/pga/72/team. The Office consisted of 28 team members, including 20 women and 8 men. The team was drawn from all regions of the world.
  • Seven staff were covered by the regular United Nations budget, 15 were seconded from Member States, and 3 had been recruited through voluntary contributions to the Office’s Trust Fund. There was also one secondment from the United Nations system – namely the International Organization for Migration – and 2 United Nations
  • The Spokesperson was asked whether the transparency on the Office’s web site would only extend to the President or to the rest of the staff as well. The journalist specifically wanted to know whether it would be possible to determine which staff members were being funded by which countries. The Spokesperson said that not all pledges to the Office’s Trust Fund had been converted into contributions yet. However, once actual funds were received, including those which Member States had earmarked for certain staff members, that information would be posted immediately on the web site.

 

GENERAL COMMITTEE VOTES FOR 1ST TIME IN 12 YEARS

  • On 15 September, the General Assembly, at its 2nd Plenary meeting, would consider the report of the General Committee (A/72/250) and adopt the agenda for its 72nd session. On 13 September, the first formal meeting of the General Committee took place. The Committee considered a draft agenda, as well as how to distribute the agenda items among the Plenary and the different General Assembly committees. The General Committee prepared recommendations to the General Assembly regarding each item proposed.
  • Many of the agenda items remain the same from session to session. But this year there were seven requests for new items to be included in the agenda of the 72nd session. Five of those were requests for observer status in the General Assembly.
  • Another was titled: “The responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”. By a vote of 19 in favour to 5 against with 3 abstentions, the General Committee recommended that the General Assembly include the item on its agenda for the 72nd This was the first time in 12 years that a vote was held in the General Committee.
  • The other new item was called: “Complete withdrawal of foreign military forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova”. Based on an agreement between the concerned delegations, the General Committee decided to postpone the consideration of that item to the next formal meeting of the General Committee, to be held in October.
  • Asked about whether the item on foreign military forces in the Republic of Moldova referred to Russian troops, the Spokesperson answered that the “concerned delegations” to which he had referred were indeed the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation, but he did not speculate further on the nationality of the “foreign military forces”.

 

PRESIDENT TO COMMUNICATE REGULARLY WITH THE PRESS

  • Asked if the President would give regular press briefings, the Spokesperson answered that the President would hold a press conference on 2 October. That date, which was after the General Debate, was chosen since the President would be able to brief at that time on the achievements of the General Debate and how its outcomes had aligned with his expectations.
  • The Spokesperson added that the President was very willing to meet regularly with the press.