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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

30 November 2017

The President attended a panel discussion organized by the Non-Aligned Movement this morning. It was called: “Solidarity, Dialogue and Tolerance in a Diverse World: Towards a Culture of Peace”.
In his remarks, the President said, “A culture of peace is more than, simply, peace… It refers to a kind of peace that won’t buckle under pressure. The kind of peace that entire generations can experience.”
He added, “A culture of peace is not possible without respect for human rights.”

This morning, the General Assembly plenary met on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East. This was a continuation of yesterday’s meeting. Fourteen speakers took the floor.
Six draft resolutions were adopted — four on the question of Palestine and two on the situation in the Middle East.
Asked about the nature of the four resolutions on Palestine, the Spokesperson said these were standard resolutions that were adopted every year.

The Second Committee, which handles economic and financial matters, ended its work today. During this session, it adopted 41 draft resolutions and 2 draft decisions. Thirty-one of the drafts were adopted by consensus and 12 by a recorded vote.
In the last session, 5 out of 42 draft resolutions were voted on. In that regard, more draft resolutions were adopted by a recorded vote this session than in the previous one. The majority, however, were still adopted by consensus.
This was the first time since 1986 that the Second Committee wrapped up its work in November – as opposed to December.
The drafts adopted today will now go to the General Assembly Plenary and be considered on 20 December.

In response to questions about whether Member States could be suspended or expelled from the United Nations, the Spokesperson noted that Article 5 of the United Nations Charter stated, “A Member of the United Nations against which preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The exercise of these rights and privileges may be restored by the Security Council.”
The Spokesperson added that, according to Article 6 of the United Nations Charter, “A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.”
Asked whether the President had received any recommendations from the Security Council, regarding suspensions or expulsions, the Spokesperson said that he had not. Asked whether the President felt that such action was needed at this time, the Spokesperson said that the President had not expressed any opinions along those lines.

The Spokesperson was asked to elaborate upon the President’s relationship with the Permanent Mission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and whether it was “functioning and in line with relationships he had with other Missions.”
The Spokesperson responded that DPRK was a United Nations Member State, and the President had held meetings with its representatives, including the Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative, on a variety of topics.
In such meetings, the President had conveyed the message that no country could ignore the will of the international community when the international community was united.

Asked about a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) working in the United Nations Department of Political Affairs, and whether every Member State had a right to place its nationals as JPOs in the departments of their choice, the Spokesperson noted that the JPO Programme was managed by the Secretariat.
Asked about links between the General Assembly and the JPO Programme, the Spokesperson later added that the Programme has been discussed in the Fifth Committee as a human resources management matter. During the 71^st session, the Fifth Committee endorsed a recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) to request the Secretary-General to report on the use of Junior Professional Officers in the Secretariat and to submit a proposal for ensuring an updated legislative basis for their deployment across the Secretariat.