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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

28 March 2018

 

PEACEBUILDING DRAFT RESOLUTION CIRCULATED

  • The zero draft of a resolution entitled “Follow-up on the Secretary General’s Report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace” has been circulated to Member States.
  • The draft was submitted by the Permanent Representatives of Bangladesh and Lithuania, who are the co-facilitators leading the intergovernmental consultations on a draft resolution to be adopted by the General Assembly during the High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace on 24-25 April.
  • The next informal consultations on this draft will be held tomorrow from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber.

 

DRAFT RESOLUTION ON NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES NOW AVAILABLE

  • The Permanent Representatives of Italy and Uruguay, who serve as the co-facilitators for the Third High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, have circulated a draft resolution related to the organization of that event.
  • The High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases will take place in September.

 

PRESIDENT SUPPORTS PEACEFUL DENUCLEARIZATION OF KOREAN PENINSULA

  • Asked for the President’s reaction to the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Un, the Spokesperson said the President supports efforts geared toward the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
  • He added that the President had seen media reports about the meeting but had not received any firsthand readouts.

 

PRESIDENT IN SLOVAKIA FOR CABINET MEETING

  • Asked why the President was in Slovakia today, the Spokesperson said this trip had been long planned, as part of a wider visit to Europe. The President was currently there in his capacity as Foreign Minister of Slovakia.
  • Asked why the President needed to be in Slovakia when he already had an Acting Foreign Minister on the ground, the Spokesperson said that, while he had appointed an Acting Foreign Minister to manage the day-to-day business of the Slovak Foreign Ministry, Mr. Lajčák remained the Foreign Minister. As such, and as he had done since the start of his Presidency, he periodically attended Cabinet meetings of the Slovak Government. The Spokesperson noted that this was the first such meeting that President Lajčák had attended since the start of 2018.
  • In response to further questions, the Spokesperson said the President had been in Slovakia last week to be reappointed as Foreign Minister – because of extraordinary circumstances that could not have been predicted and planned for in advance.