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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

14 December 2017

This morning in Paris, France, the President addressed the Council of Ambassadors at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
He stressed the universal nature of the Sustainable Development Goals and the need for a continued focus on the Goals from all sides. He said, “If we fail to ramp up implementation, and the financing behind it, we will fail to achieve our goals. And we will all be to blame.”
On this, he emphasised the crucial role of the OECD. He said, “Your participation will be critical- not just as donors, but also as committed champions of sustainable development and leaders in the fight against climate change.”
The President will return to New York tonight and be back in the office tomorrow morning.

The President wrote to Member States yesterday to inform them that the 72nd session’s first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform will be held on 29 and 30 January.
According to the Co-Chairs for this process, the Permanent Representatives of Georgia and the United Arab Emirates, “Member States are approaching the process constructively – not only making compelling cases for their positions, but also expressing openness to dialogue and exchange of creative ideas.”
The exact topics for discussion will be circulated in mid-January.

Regarding the Secretary-General’s reform proposal, entitled: “Restructuring of the United Nations peace and security pillar”, Member States are currently considering a draft resolution.
That draft is now under silence procedure until 6:00 p.m. today. If there are no objections from Member States by that time, the draft will go to the General Assembly plenary for action.
If the draft is adopted, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly, as soon as possible, a comprehensive report on his peace and security pillar reform proposal, elaborating on the establishment of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Department of Peace Operations, including detailed information on the proposed functions, structure and staffing requirements, for the consideration of and decision by the General Assembly.

The Spokesperson was asked about what was expected from today’s meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly.
The Spokesperson later noted that the meeting this afternoon would be a normal meeting. There would be an update on different activities of the Committee.
The Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine would also brief on the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and developments in the political process.

In response to questions, the Spokesperson later said that the President was aware of and concerned by the late arrival of documents to the Fifth Committee for its consideration. This had been a persistent problem, hampering the work of the Committee.
The President had discussed this issue with the Chairs of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and the Fifth Committee. He had also been kept abreast of the state of play in the Fifth Committee, including through periodic contact with the Fifth Committee’s Chair.
The Spokesperson added that ACABQ was a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly and was represented in the Fifth Committee by its Chair.