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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

23 February 2018

 

PRESIDENT TO HEAD TO GENEVA AND ADDIS ABABA

  • The President will be in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 27 February. There he will address the opening of the 37th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Council’s Annual High-level Panel on Human Rights Mainstreaming and the Conference on Disarmament.
  • He is also expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings, including with: the President of Austria; the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Chief Executive of Afghanistan; the Foreign Ministers of Ecuador and Norway; and the Vice Foreign Minister of Japan.
  • From Geneva, the President will head to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There he will meet with officials from the African Union Commission, the Government of Ethiopia and the UN Country Team. A major focus of this visit will be African perspectives on peacebuilding and sustaining peace.
  • The President will be back in his office in New York on 5 March.

 

PRESIDENT DISCUSSES MULTILATERALISM WITH U.N. AMBASSADORS

  • This morning the President held the latest in his series of Morning Dialogues with UN ambassadors. The topic was “Multilateralism under fire?”.
  • Nine Permanent Representatives participated.

 

CANDIDATES SUBMIT VISION STATEMENTS AHEAD OF ELECTION FOR NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

  • The election of the next President of the General Assembly — for the 73rd session — will take place on 5 June.
  • Currently, there are two candidates: the Permanent Representative of Honduras to the United Nations, H.E. Ms. Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés.
  • Today a new web page was launched, where one can obtain more information about the process and read the vision statements from both candidates. The page is: un.org/pga/72/pga-election.
  • For the first time ever, the Assembly will hold informal interactive dialogues with the candidates. This was decided by resolution 71/323 entitled “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”. The dialogues will be held in early May. The goal is to promote transparency and inclusivity.
  • As per the principle of geographical rotation, the President of the 73rd session is to be elected from the Latin American and Caribbean Group. And President Lajčák invited Member States to consider presenting women candidates.

 

PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS U.N.-A.U. COLLABORATION WITH AFRICAN GROUP, DISCUSSES ROLE OF U.N. WITH YOUTH

  • The President spoke this morning at the 2018 Global Engagement Summit, which is being organized by the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA).
  • His address to the young participants focused on the United Nations’ significance in today’s world. And he asked, “To all those questioning the need and role of the UN, what’s the alternative?”
  • This evening the President will deliver opening remarks at the African Group’s annual retreat.
  • The theme this year is: “Partnership and Cooperation – Working Toward African-driven and African-led Reform Processes at the United Nations: Maximizing Africa’s Impact and Influence”.
  • He is expected to speak about collaboration between the UN and African Union in the areas of peace and security, migration, sustainable development and UN reforms.