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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

17 April 2018

 

ASSEMBLY TO HOLD SYRIA MECHANISM MEETING TOMORROW

  • The President will convene an informal meeting of the General Assembly tomorrow morning on the International Impartial and 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 President decided to convene this meeting in response to a letter dated 12 March from the ambassadors of Liechtenstein and Qatar – on behalf of 56 delegations.
  • The letter requested an informal debate to allow the Head of the IIIM to present her report followed by a discussion by the United Nations membership.
  • The President met this morning with the Head of the IIIM to discuss tomorrow’s meeting.
  • That meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. It will be webcast and open to the media.
  • Asked whether the recent alleged chemical attack in Douma would be discussed during this meeting, the Spokesperson said that this meeting would focus on the IIIM report, which was written before the latest developments in Syria. Asked whether Member States could raise Douma during the discussion following the presentation of the report, the Spokesperson said that would be up to Member States when they took the floor.
  • Asked whether this would be the first time the General Assembly was meeting on the IIIM since the IIIM was created, the Spokesperson later confirmed that this was indeed the case.
  • Asked who be presenting the report of the IIIM, the Spokesperson said that would be the Head of the Mechanism, Ms. Catherine Marchi-Uhel.
  • Asked whether there was any “legal binding value” to the IIIM report, the Spokesperson said he was not aware of any legally binding aspect. He added that the IIIM had been established by the General Assembly in December 2016. The General Assembly had called upon all States to cooperate fully with it. The Secretary-General issued a report on the implementation of the resolution and appointed Catherine Marchi-Uhel of France as Head of the Mechanism in 2017. The Spokesperson noted that the Head is supposed to submit a report to the General Assembly twice a year, according to the Mechanism’s terms of reference.

 

ELECTION OF NEXT ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT: DIALOGUES FOR CANDIDATES TO BE HELD ON 4 MAY

  • Regarding the election of the next President of the General Assembly, the informal interactive dialogues with the candidates will be held on Friday 4 May in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
  • This will be the first time these dialogues will be held. The goal is to increase transparency and inclusivity.
  • Each of the two dialogues will last up to two hours and be presided over by President Lajčák. Each candidate will start with an introduction and then take questions and hear comments from Member States.
  • Time permitting, candidates would also be able to respond to questions from civil society or other stakeholders. Those questions would need to be submitted in advance through the President’s web site.
  • Asked who would select which questions would be asked, the Spokesperson said the President’s Office would look at the questions and determine how relevant they were to the United Nations and the election. Relevant questions would then be put into a bowl, and candidates could select them.
  • All of the proceedings will be webcast and open to the press.
  • In response to a question, the Spokesperson said that, as per the established principle of geographical rotation, the President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly was to be elected from the Latin American and Caribbean Group.
  • Asked whether President Lajčák was in favour of geographical rotation in these elections, the Spokesperson said he did support the principle because it had been mandated by Member States.
  • Asked where there was a deadline for candidates to present their candidacies, the Spokesperson later clarified that there was no deadline.
  • Asked whether President Lajčák felt that countries that had never held the position of President should be favoured over those who had, the Spokesperson said this was a matter for the Member States to decide on.
  • Asked whether the President had been communicating with all Member States regarding the election, or just the Latin American and Caribbean Group, the Spokesperson said the President had been in touch with all Member States. Just yesterday, in fact, he had met with the Chairs of all Regional Groups, and one of the topics discussed had been the election.

 

PRESIDENT HOLDS GROUNDBREAKING INTERACTIVE HEARING WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

  • This afternoon, the President will deliver remarks at an informal interactive hearing with indigenous peoples.
  • This will be the first ever interactive hearing between a General Assembly President and indigenous peoples.
  • The President was mandated to organize it by General Assembly resolution 71/321.
  • The idea is to look at how indigenous peoples can better participate at the United Nations.

 

NEXT MIGRATION AGENCY CHIEF SHOULD SHARE U.N. VALUES ON MIGRATION

  • The Spokesperson was asked whether the President had any reaction to comments made by Ken Isaacs, a candidate in the upcoming election for the new Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
  • The Spokesperson said that migration was a major issue for the General Assembly, and IOM’s expertise on this topic was undisputed. IOM was therefore a key partner to the General Assembly – and who its next head was would be a relevant issue for the General Assembly.
  • The President hoped that whoever was selected would share the values of United Nations Member States and the international community when it came to migration.

 

PRESIDENT DEVASTATED BY MURDER OF SLOVAK JOURNALIST LAST FEBRUARY

  • Asked for the President’s reaction to developments related to the killing of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak last February, the Spokesperson said the President strongly believed in the freedom of the press and the right of journalists to be able to work in safe and secure environments.
  • In that regard, the President had been devastated by the brutal murder of Mr. Kuciak and his partner.