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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

4 June 2018

Today the President is convening an interactive civil society hearing to prepare for the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis.
That high-level meeting will be held in September and will be the first such meeting dedicated to tuberculosis, which kills more people across the globe than any other infectious disease.
In his remarks this morning, the President noted world leaders’ bold commitment to end the tuberculosis epidemic by 2030.
But, he said, we are not on track to meet this target. He added, “We need to ramp up our efforts. And to do so urgently.”

The fifth round of talks on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration started today and will last all this week.
The President delivered remarks this afternoon.
He reminded delegates that the Global Compact will be a groundbreaking achievement – something that has never been done before – the first global framework for global governance and international cooperation on migration.
He also said that agreeing on a Global Compact is a test for multilateralism – and a test of the United Nations’ capacity to respond to pressing global issues.

The President met this morning with the Foreign Minister of Hungary. They discussed preparations for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, water-related issues, and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
This afternoon the President will meet with the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture of the Maldives.
Right now, the President is having a working lunch with Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

Asked to comment on the death of Palestinian nurse Razan al-Najjar, the Spokesperson later informed the journalist that the President of the General Assembly is deeply saddened by the loss of Razan al-Najjar and calls for an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into this tragic incident.
He stresses that all parties must cooperate with medical and humanitarian personnel to allow and facilitate unimpeded access to the civilian population. Any form of violence and intimidation directed against medical and humanitarian personnel is completely unacceptable.
The President calls upon all parties to prevent further loss of life at all costs. He further calls for the exercise of maximum restraint and calm by all parties in Gaza. All parties must assume their responsibility to avoid confrontation to stabilize the situation and to reverse negative trends on the ground.

Tomorrow, the election of the President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly will take place at 10:00 a.m. in the General Assembly Hall.
There are two candidates – from Ecuador and Honduras.
At around 12:00 p.m., the victor will speak to the press. A stakeout will be set up on the 2nd floor right by the entrance to the General Assembly Hall.
In response to questions, the Spokesperson said that, in order to win the election, a candidate needed to secure a simple majority among those present and voting.
Asked if the current President of the General Assembly would be presiding over the election, the Spokesperson confirmed that this would indeed be the case.