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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

21 November 2017

On Twitter this morning, the President strongly condemned today’s terror attack in eastern Nigeria.
He said it is unacceptable that civilians were targeted in a place of worship.

Asked for the President’s reaction to reports that Mr. Robert Mugabe had resigned as the President of Zimbabwe, the Spokesperson said that the President noted Mr. Mugabe’s announcement and called for calm, restraint and respect for constitutional order during this time.

Also this morning, the President addressed a UN-CARICOM high-level pledging conference entitled “Building a More Climate-Resilient Community.”
In his remarks, he said climate change is not a theoretical question for the people of the Caribbean. They live this reality daily.
He added, “As a global family, we have a moral obligation to stand with the people affected.”
The President highlighted three key steps: committing support to the rebuilding effort; emphasizing resilience; and recognizing that Small Island Developing States are particularly vulnerable to climate change, natural disasters and external shocks.
He added, “We should not let the people be punished once by nature and twice by outdated economic policies.”

The General Assembly plenary held a meeting on Afghanistan and adopted a resolution on that country by consensus this morning.
Among other things, the Assembly pledged its continued support to the Government and people of Afghanistan — as they rebuild a stable, secure and economically self-sufficient State, free of terrorism and narcotics, and strengthen the foundations of a constitutional democracy as a responsible member of the international community.

Yesterday afternoon, the General Assembly, together with the Security Council, elected Dalveer Bhandari of India to the International Court of Justice.
He was elected by a vote of 183 in favour to zero against, with 10 abstentions.
The opposing candidate, Christopher Greenwood of the United Kingdom, withdrew from the race prior to the vote.
In a letter addressed to the President yesterday, the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom said the deadlock between the two candidates was unlikely to be broken by further rounds of voting.
In a tweet yesterday, the President said he was happy that the elections had successfully wrapped up. He noted the constructive spirit that had prevailed and congratulated all 5 new judges.

The Spokesperson was asked what steps the current President would take to respond to an alleged bribery case involving a former General Assembly President and a non-governmental organization (NGO), which was accredited to the Economic and Social Council and working with a Department in the United Nations Secretariat.
The Spokesperson noted that he only spoke for the current President of the General Assembly – not former ones – and referred questions about this matter to the Economic and Social Council and the Department in question. He stressed that this case had nothing to do with the current President.
For his part, the current President of the General Assembly continues to hold himself and his office to the highest levels of transparency and ethics. Financial details pertaining to the use of his Office’s Trust Fund are regularly posted on the Office’s web site, and the President is preparing to become the first United Nations General Assembly President in history to make his personal financial disclosure summary public.