PRESIDENT FULLY FOCUSED ON FINALIZING GLOBAL COMPACT ON MIGRATION

• Asked for the President’s response to countries in the Mediterranean not opening their ports to ships carrying migrants, the Spokesperson said that, rather than commenting on internal migration policies, the President remained focused on the urgency of finalizing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
• The next round of talks on the Global Compact would start on 9 July. The goal was still to finalize the compact in July and then have it adopted in Morocco in December.
• The President viewed this process as an urgent test for the United Nations, as this would be the first ever global understanding and framework of its kind. The Spokesperson added that situations such as the ones in the Mediterranean showed why the Global Compact was needed.
• Pressed about the precarious circumstances being faced by migrants on ships in the Mediterranean, the Spokesperson said the President fully understood the gravity of the situation.
• Asked who at the United Nations could address and understand the human rights dimensions of the current situation, the Spokesperson noted that different United Nations offices had different areas of responsibility. From the President’s side, he continued to lead and remain fully engaged in the Member States’ process to finalize the Global Compact. The Spokesperson added that human rights definitely formed part of the discussions on the Global Compact.

ASSEMBLY WRAPS UP COUNTER-TERRORISM DEBATE

• This morning, the General Assembly plenary concluded its debate on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
• Seven speakers took the floor, including Fiji, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Morocco, Norway, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
• Asked whether the United Nations High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism, which would take place in the General Assembly Hall, was a General Assembly event, the Spokesperson said that it was not. It was being convened by the Secretary-General.
• Asked about reports that civil society would be barred from certain segments of this conference in the General Assembly Hall, the Spokesperson said it was not for the President to comment on this non-General Assembly event.
• Pressed about the President’s views on civil society engagement in general, the Spokesperson said the President worked with members of civil society frequently and regularly invited them to participate in his events. Civil society engagement was important to the President.

PRESIDENT HONORS WOMEN LEADERS AT U.N.

• The President just addressed an event to launch the Book “HERstory: Celebrating Women Leaders in the United Nations”.
• He said the United Nations would not be what it is without women.
• He said women should be recognized as “pioneers who worked to build this Organisation from the ground up – and who continue to shape it today.”

PRESIDENT MEETS NEW HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

• The President met this morning with the new Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, John Denton.
• The President congratulated Mr. Denton on his recent election. And Mr. Denton thanked the President for engaging the private sector in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and enabling business leaders to attend the President’s recent high-level meeting on financing the SDGs.
• They looked forward to continuing the strong partnership between the United Nations and the International Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Denton said the Chamber would contribute to the toolbox that the President is developing, which will contain a compendium of recommendations and best practices that emerged from the President’s recent high-level meeting.
• That toolbox is expected to be launched next month.

PRESIDENT DISCUSSES MULTILATERALISM WITH CHINESE AMBASSADOR

• Asked why the President met yesterday with the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, the Spokesperson said the topics of discussion had included multilateralism, the Belt and Road Initiative, and new UN-Chinese projects concerning the fight against corruption.