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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

23 July 2018

The General Assembly plenary today adopted by consensus a resolution on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
This is the first time that the Assembly has reviewed ECOSOC since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The last such review took place in the 68th session. And the next review will happen in the 74th session.
According to today’s resolution, the General Assembly will adopt one main theme for ECOSOC and the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

Also today, the General Assembly appointed a member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
The new member, Takeshi Matsunaga of Japan, was nominated following the resignation of Takeshi Akamatsu, who is also a Japanese national.
The candidature was endorsed by the group of Asia-Pacific States.
In other news, the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly is holding closed consultations today.

Tomorrow morning the General Assembly will pay tribute to two former Presidents of the General Assembly, who passed away recently.
They are H.E. Mr. Dante Caputo of Argentina, who presided over the 43rd session in 1988, and H.E. Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, who led the 54th session in 1999.

A draft political declaration on tuberculosis has been circulated to Member States.
This would be for adoption at the first-ever high-level United Nations meeting on tuberculosis, which will be held in September.
The goal of the text is to guide Member States’ joint efforts to end tuberculosis by 2030.
Tuberculosis kills more people across the globe than any other infectious disease.

President Lajčák will be out of the office this week and next – on annual leave.