PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

United Nations Headquarters, New York

16 February 2021

 

PRESIDENT CLOSELY FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS IN MYANMAR

  • The President said this morning that he is in contact with UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener and closely following developments in Myanmar.
  • He urged the military to allow Ms. Schraner Burgener to visit, assess the situation and brief the General Assembly accordingly. He said, “It’s not too late to listen to the will of the people.”

 

GENDER ADVISORY GROUP HOLDS 2ND MEETING

  • This morning, the President is convening the second meeting of his Gender Advisory Group. The meeting is currently underway.
  • In line with a recommendation made at the group’s last meeting, he is speaking about enhancing the relationship between the General Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
  • He is listening to the group’s perspectives on recent trends and actions related to the Beijing Declaration and achieving equality for women in all spheres.
  • This morning he also welcomed Ambassador Alie Kabba of Sierra Leone, who just joined the group as the newly elected President of the Bureau of the UN Women Executive Board, replacing Ambassador Jukka Salovaara of Finland.
  • Other expected topics of discussion include engaging with women’s civil society organizations, violence against women, and links between the private sector and gender equality issues.

 

PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES NEW HEAD OF WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

  • On Twitter yesterday, the President sent his warmest congratulations to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on making “herstory” as the first African and first woman Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
  • He said that a strong multilateral trading system is key to ensuring an inclusive and sustainable global economic recovery – and that he looks forward to working together.