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

MIDDLE EAST: ASSEMBLY TO RESUME 10^TH EMERGENCY SPECIAL SESSION THIS AFTERNOON

• The General Assembly’s tenth emergency special session – entitled Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory – will be resumed this afternoon at 3:00. The last time it was resumed was last December.
• The President is convening the meeting following a formal request from the Ambassadors of Algeria and Turkey, in their respective capacities as Chair of the Arab Group and Chair of the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
• The meeting will start with statements from Member States and then action is expected at the end of the meeting on two documents – a draft resolution entitled “Protection of the Palestinian civilian population”, which was submitted by Algeria, Turkey and the State of Palestine; and an amendment to that draft resolution, which was proposed by the United States.
• Asked if today’s draft resolution was similar to the one that had recently been tabled by Kuwait and then vetoed in the Security Council, the Spokesperson confirmed that the drafts were almost identical.
• Asked for procedural details about today’s meeting, the Spokesperson said that, according to the current scenario, Member States would make statements, followed by action on the US amendment and then the draft resolution. The Spokesperson added that the proceedings could also be adjusted according to Member States’ wishes during the meeting.
• Asked how many Member States would speak, the Spokesperson said that the speakers’ list was still being finalized.
• Asked how the State of Palestine could co-sponsor a resolution since it was not a Member State, the Spokesperson referred the reporter to General Assembly resolution A/RES/52/250, which states: “The additional rights and privileges of participation of Palestine shall be effected through the following modalities, without prejudice to the existing rights and privileges: … The right to co-sponsor draft resolutions and decisions on Palestinian and Middle East issues.”
• Asked whether today’s draft resolution would “have the power of a Security Council resolution,” the Spokesperson emphasized that, if adopted, today’s resolution would “absolutely” be an “important expression of political will” and an “important recommendation by the General Assembly.” However, although it could be considered binding on the Secretariat, it would not be binding in the same way as a Security Council resolution.
• Asked whether it was possible for the meeting to go into a second day if the list of speakers was too long to accommodate in a single afternoon, the Spokesperson said that was indeed a possibility. As of now, however, the meeting was only scheduled to take place today.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS NEW MEMBERS OF ECONMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

• This morning the General Assembly met to elect 18 members of the Economic and Social Council for the 2019-2021 term.
• All 18 ran unopposed and secured the required two-thirds majorities.
• The new members are Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Mali from the African States; Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan from the Asia-Pacific States; Armenia and Ukraine from the Eastern European States; Brazil, Jamaica and Paraguay from the Latin American and Caribbean States; and Canada, Luxembourg, Netherlands and the United States from the Western European and Other States.
• There were also 3 members elected to continue other Member States’ 3-year terms: Cambodia, replacing Tajikistan (one-year term from 1 January to 31 December 2019); Yemen replacing the United Arab Emirates (one-year term from 1 January to 31 December 2019); and Malta replacing Spain (two-year term from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020).

BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE REPRESENTS CHINA’S COMMITMENT TO U.N. PRINCIPLES

• This morning the President addressed a High-Level Symposium on the “Belt and Road Initiative and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
• The President said China’s Belt and Road Initiative represents a commitment to its neighbors, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate action, multilateralism, and the principles of the United Nations.
• Asked why the meeting had appeared to be closed to the press, the Spokesperson said that the President had been invited to this event by the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the World Health Organization. In that regard, he urged the journalist to direct his question to those entities.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN GREECE & F.Y.R. MACEDONIA A “HUGE STEP FORWARD”

• Yesterday, via Twitter, the President congratulated the leaders of Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on reaching a historic agreement on the name issue.
• He said this impressive and mutually beneficial diplomatic success by the two Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Matthew Nimetz, was a huge step forward that will ensure stronger partnership and a joint European and Euro-Atlantic future.

SWAZILAND NOW KNOWN AS ESWATINI

• Asked whether Swaziland had successfully changed its name, the Spokesperson confirmed that the country was now known in the General Assembly as Eswatini.