{"id":130137,"date":"2017-11-13T15:12:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T20:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/?p=130137"},"modified":"2018-06-18T19:16:11","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T23:16:11","slug":"highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-13-november-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2017\/11\/13\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-13-november-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights of press briefing by spokesperson \u2013 13 November 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.87&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1><strong>HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>SPOKESPERSON FOR <\/strong><strong>GENERAL ASSEMBLY <\/strong><strong>PRESIDENT <\/strong><strong>MIROSLAV LAJ\u010c\u00c1K <\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"post-meta vcard\">\n<p><strong>United Nations Headquarters, New York<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><span class=\"updated\">13 November 2017<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.87&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>PRESIDENT CONCERNED BY RISING DEATH TOLL AFTER IRAN-IRAQ EARTHQUAKE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The President, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UN_PGA\/status\/930042933985804295\">tweet<\/a> this morning, said he was worried by the rising death toll from the devastating earthquake in Iran and Iraq.<\/li>\n<li>He added that the General Assembly stands with the Governments and survivors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES PARTICIPATION IN PYEONGCHANG WINTER OLYMPICS, URGES ALL COUNTRIES TO JOIN HIM<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This morning the President delivered <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2017\/11\/13\/sport-for-development-and-peace-2\/\">remarks<\/a> to the General Assembly plenary meeting on the agenda item: \u201cSport for development and peace: building a peaceful and better world through sport and\u00a0the Olympic ideal\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>The President said sport can bring people together and offers young people a platform for empowerment.<\/li>\n<li>Referring to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, which will be held in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, he added, \u201cIt is more important than ever to reaffirm the ideals of the United Nations, and the Olympic Games, in the Korean Peninsula.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>He noted that he himself will be present in Pyeongchang in February and called on all countries to participate there.<\/li>\n<li>The General Assembly today adopted by consensus a <a href=\"https:\/\/undocs.org\/A\/72\/L.5\">resolution<\/a> on the Olympics, by which it urged Member States to observe the Olympic Truce \u2013 from the seventh day before the start of the 23rd Olympic Winter Games until the seventh day following the end of the 12th Paralympic Winter Games.<\/li>\n<li>Also in connection with the Olympics today, the President met with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Thomas Bach, and a delegation from the Republic of Korea, which included: the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, H.E. Mr. DO Jong Whan; the President and Chief Executive Officer of the PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee, Mr. LEE Hee Beom; and Olympic gold medalist Kim Yuna. The President met separately with the Permanent Representative of the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea to the United Nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>GENERAL ASSEMBLY CAN\u2019T BE A PLACE TO ADVANCE JUST OUR OWN INTERESTS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The General Assembly plenary met this morning on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.<\/li>\n<li>In his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2017\/11\/13\/revitalization-of-the-work-of-the-general-assembly\/\">remarks<\/a>, the President said, \u201cThe General Assembly cannot be a place to advance our own interests. It cannot be a place we come to with nothing but red lines and static positions. This might be a tempting option. And it can lead to a win for one person, or one state, or one group. But, on the whole, we will all lose.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>PRESIDENT HEADS TO BONN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The President will be leaving New York this afternoon for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2017\/11\/10\/note-to-correspondents-general-assembly-president-to-address-un-climate-change-conference-in-germany\/\">official travel<\/a> to Bonn, Germany. On Wednesday, 15 November, he will address the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference\u2019s high-level segment.<\/li>\n<li>Ahead of his trip, the President said, \u201cThe Paris Agreement is a milestone for multilateralism. But it\u2019s not an end in itself. While we discuss how to implement it, people are suffering from the unprecedented and brutal effects of climate change. This common threat binds us together, and only together can we solve it.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>While in Bonn, the President is expected to hold bilateral meetings with fellow participants, including the Prime Minister of Fiji, who is also the Conference President. He will also hold a dialogue with young attendees on how he can best involve youth in his work and address their concerns during the 72nd\u00a0session.<\/li>\n<li>He will be back in the office on Thursday, 16 November.<\/li>\n<li>Asked what message the President would be taking to Bonn, the Spokesperson said the President would convey the position that climate change does not respect national borders. As such, he would like to see the international community work together to address this common threat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>CANDIDATES FROM INDIA &amp; U.K. COMPETE FOR LAST SEAT IN WORLD COURT ELECTIONS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This afternoon, the General Assembly will meet to continue with the elections for the International Court of Justice (ICJ).<\/li>\n<li>Following the six rounds that were held on Thursday, four candidates were elected. They are from Brazil, France, Lebanon and Somalia. They received the required majority of votes in both the General Assembly and Security Council.<\/li>\n<li>However, there is still one vacancy that has not yet been decided upon. The candidates from India and the United Kingdom are now competing for that last seat.<\/li>\n<li>Asked for the President\u2019s reaction to a former United Nations official who had said that the ICJ election process was unfair, the Spokesperson said that the process and procedures governing the elections were a matter for the Member States to agree upon. The President would respect whatever processes and procedures were agreed to by the Member States.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>SPECIAL POLITICAL &amp; LEGAL COMMITTEES WRAP UP WORK<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Fourth Committee \u2013 or Special Political and Decolonization Committee \u2013 concluded its work on Friday, 10 November. It approved 39 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions.\u00a0 It held 28 formal meetings.<\/li>\n<li>During its decolonization debate, 116 individuals and organizations addressed the Committee as petitioners from several Non\u2011Self\u2011Governing Territories.<\/li>\n<li>The Sixth Committee, which handles legal matters, also wrapped up its work on Friday, 10 November. It discussed 24 agenda items, and adopted 17 resolutions and 1 decision by consensus.<\/li>\n<li>The reports from both the Fourth and Sixth Committees will be considered by the General Assembly plenary \u2013 most probably in December.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>NO PRESIDENTIAL TRIPS CURRENTLY PLANNED TO ISRAEL OR PALESTINE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Asked if the President had plans to travel to Israel or Palestine in the near future, the Spokesperson said that, as of now, he could not confirm any such plans and had nothing to announce in that regard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>NO ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION REQUIRED FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL\u2019S APPOINTMENTS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Asked whether the President believed that the Secretary-General should wait for a General Assembly resolution on Myanmar before appointing an envoy on that subject, the Spokesperson said it was up to the Secretary-General to appoint his own envoys as he saw fit.<\/li>\n<li>The Secretary-General did not need to wait for General Assembly resolutions before appointing envoys.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_code admin_label=&#8221;BrightCove Video ShortCode&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.6&#8243;]\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe width=\"&quot;100%&quot;\" height=\"&quot;180&quot;\" src scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n&lt;!&#8211; [et_pb_line_break_holder] &#8211;&gt;[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights of press briefing by spokesperson Brenden Varma \u2013 13 November 2017<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spokespersons-briefings","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - 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