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

INCLUSIVE & SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIALISATION HELPS PEOPLE, PRESIDENT SAYS IN VIENNA

• The President is currently in Vienna, Austria. This morning, he paid his first visit as President to the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).
• He met with the Director-General of UNOV and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Yury Fedotov. They discussed human trafficking, corruption and counter-terrorism.
• The President also delivered remarks at the opening of the 17th Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). He said, “Industrial development often conjures up images of big factories and heavy machinery.” But “the whole purpose of industrialisation is to deliver better livelihoods and improved standards.” In effect, “people are at the heart of industrial development,” and “when industrialisation is inclusive and sustainable, the results are positive.”
• Also in Vienna today, the President held a number of bilateral meetings.
• He thanked Austria for being a United Nations host country in encounters with H.E. Mr. Alexander Van der Bellen, Federal President of Austria, and H.E. Mr. Sebastian Kurz, Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of Austria.
• With H.E. Ms. Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, he spoke about migration and sustaining peace.
• With H.E. Ms. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, he discussed women in peacekeeping, children, migration and sustainable development in Africa.
• He also exchanged views with Mr. Thomas Greminger, the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on migration, peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
• The President will be in Geneva tomorrow, where he will address the Council of the International Organization for Migration.
• Asked whether the President had discussed Afghanistan and opium production in his meeting with the Executive Director of UNODC, the Spokesperson said those topics had not come up.

NO PLANS FOR ASSEMBLY MECHANISM TO REPLACE SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS PANEL

• The Spokesperson was asked whether the General Assembly would set up a “parallel mechanism” to replace the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), the international panel that had been investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria, given the Security Council’s present deadlock on the mandate.
• The Spokesperson said that this remained a matter for the Security Council and that there was currently no initiative by any Member State to put this item on the General Assembly’s agenda.

MYANMAR: UNITED NATIONS ENGAGED ON ROHINGYA ISSUE

• Asked whether the General Assembly would hold a “special meeting” on the Rohingya issue, the Spokesperson said that the President continued to consider the Rohingya matter a “human tragedy.”
• The President also recognized that there were many areas of the United Nations that were already engaged on this topic, including the Security Council and Secretary-General.
• Regarding the General Assembly, the Spokesperson noted that the Third Committee had adopted a draft resolution on Myanmar that would be considered by the General Assembly Plenary in December.

PRESIDENT MAINTAINS HIGHEST LEVELS OF ETHICS & TRANSPARENCY IN HIS OFFICE

• The Spokesperson was asked whether the President had any contacts with the China Energy Fund Committee, whose head had been linked to corruption allegations, or whether that organization had contributed in any form to the work of the Office of the President of the General Assembly. The Spokesperson replied, “Absolutely not.”
• Asked whether the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) should take any action to rescind the China Energy Fund Committee’s accreditation as a non-governmental organization, the Spokesperson said this question should be directed to the President of ECOSOC.
• The Spokesperson reiterated that he could only speak for the current President, who believed strongly in maintaining the highest standards of ethics and transparency in his office. The Spokesperson could not speak for past Presidents or ECOSOC, which was a separate organ of the United Nations.
• The journalist asked whether ECOSOC could be considered a subsidiary body of the General Assembly since ECOSOC members were elected by the General Assembly. The Spokesperson replied that, even though the General Assembly elected the members of bodies such as ECOSOC and the Security Council, those bodies remained separate organs, and the General Assembly could not speak for them.
• Asked whether there should be more coordination among United Nations organs, in order to break down silos and address common problems, the Spokesperson said that the President already engaged in frequent coordination. For example, he met every month with the Secretary-General, who headed the United Nations Secretariat. He also met regularly with the Presidents of the Security Council and ECOSOC.
• The Spokesperson emphasized that it was not up to the President to instruct other heads of organs what to do; he presided over the General Assembly only. When it came to his own office, the President would continue to lead by example.