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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

14 May 2018

On Twitter this morning, the President said he was following developments in Gaza with concern.
He regretted the loss of life and called for calm, restraint and dialogue.

The President was in Bangkok, Thailand, today. There he addressed the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
He said that “inequality is still a part of our world… and we need to address it. Not just because it is the right thing to do… But also because it is a smart move for us all. “
The President also met with the Thai Foreign Minister. They discussed Thailand’s active role in the United Nations, United Nations reform processes and the Sustainable Development Goals.
He met with the United Nations Country Team and the Asia Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism, which brings together 34 United Nations regional and subregional entities and affiliated offices.
And he visited the Golden Jubilee Museum of Agriculture to learn about Thailand’s “Sufficiency Economy Philosophy”.
The President is now on a plane heading from Thailand to Slovakia.

After arriving in Bangkok on Sunday, the President learned about the bomb attacks against churches in Indonesia. On Twitter, he condemned these vile acts and said he was heartened that Indonesians of different faiths are standing together at this time.
And in his speech to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific today, he expressed his sincere condolences to the Government and people of Indonesia.
He added, “The inhumanity of Sunday’s terrorist attacks has shocked us all – and we all stand in solidarity with you.”

The General Assembly held an informal meeting this morning to hear a briefing from Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.
The briefing was on the report of the Secretary-General on progress made in implementing the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
This is the first report on this topic by the current Secretary-General and also the first such report since the General Assembly established the Office of Counter-Terrorism.
Today’s briefing was held in advance of the consultations on the sixth review of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, which will start tomorrow.
The General Assembly plenary meeting on this subject will be held on 26 June.

Asked to explain a recent development-related draft resolution, the Spokesperson said that this draft concerned the re-positioning of the United Nations Development System. It was expected to be adopted in the next few days after the conclusion of negotiations.
Asked about aspects in the draft related to funding, the Spokesperson noted that the draft defined a set of sources of funding for the United Nations Resident Coordinator system.
Pressed about when the draft resolution would be adopted, the Spokesperson said that no date had been set yet, although 21 May was likely.

Asked about media reports that United Nations Secretariat jobs would be moved from Geneva to Budapest, the Spokesperson said that relocation would happen as part of the Secretary-General’s Global Service Delivery Model (GSDM) report.
That report was expected to be considered by the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee during its second resumed session.

Asked when the election of the next President of the General Assembly would take place, the Spokesperson said it would be held on 5 June at 10:00 a.m.
Asked what countries the candidates came from, the Spokesperson said they were from Ecuador and Honduras.

Asked for updates regarding the Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011 (IIIM), the Spokesperson said that there was nothing new to report since the informal meeting on this topic had been held on 18 April.
At that meeting, the Head of the IIIM had presented her report.

The Spokesperson issued an official correction. He had said at the 11 May press briefing that President Lajčák had not met with the President of Iceland that week.
In fact, the two had held a working lunch together on 10 May.