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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

9 March 2021

 

PRESIDENTS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY & SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET THIS AFTERNOON

  • The President will hold his regular coordination meeting with his Security Council counterpart today at 3:00 p.m. The United States holds the Security Council Presidency for the month of March. Today will be the first ever meeting between the President and the Permanent Representative of the United States, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
  • Expected topics of discussion include: the General Assembly’s work this month; conflict, hunger and the threat of famine; the midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024); Syria; Myanmar; Ethiopia; and the Secretary-General selection and appointment process.
  • After this afternoon’s meeting, our office will issue a readout.
  • Asked whether the President hoped to establish a joint position on the Secretary-General selection and appointment process at this afternoon’s meeting, the Spokesperson said the President looked forward to meeting the Permanent Representative of the United States for the first time. Because this was a normal coordination meeting, the President had a number of topics to discuss with his counterpart, which were important to both the General Assembly and Security Council.

 

NEW DETAILS ON HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON WATER NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

  • The President will convene a one-day high-level meeting on water next Thursday, 18 March, at 10:00 a.m. in the General Assembly Hall. An updated programme and provisional list of speakers are now on our web site.
  • The opening segment will feature statements by the President; the Deputy Secretary-General; the President of the Economic and Social Council; the President of Tajikistan; the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the President of the International Fund for Agriculture and Development, who chairs UN-Water; and a Youth Ambassador from CONCAUSA, which is an initiative that aims to empower, connect and mobilize young people in Latin America and the Caribbean around sustainable development.
  • There are currently 76 individuals inscribed on the provisional list of speakers. Those include the Heads of State of Hungary, Austria and Slovenia; and the Heads of Government of Thailand, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago, Nepal and Timor-Leste.
  • There will be two panels – one moderated by the Executive Director of UNICEF and the other by the Administrator of UNDP. Panelists will include the Mayor of Mexico City.
  • Asked why the high-level meeting on water was being convened, the Spokesperson said the idea was to galvanize action towards implementing the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and targets by 2030. He added that it would be important at the meeting to ensure that the international community was on track to meet those goals.
  • In response to a question about expected outcomes, the Spokesperson later added that a President’s summary would be prepared and circulated. The summary would be a key input to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the UN Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Water Action Decade.
  • He also informed the journalist after the briefing that Member States and other stakeholders would be encouraged to announce their commitments to advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and related goals, as part of the ongoing Decade of Action. These “SDG 6 Acceleration Actions” would be compiled on an online platform (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgactions) and in an “SDG 6 Action Space” (https://www.unwater.org/sdg6-action-space).

 


PRESIDENT WORKING TO ENSURE FAIR, TRANSPARENT, INCLUSIVE PROCESS TO SELECT & APPOINT SECRETARY-GENERAL

  • In response to a question on the Secretary-General selection and appointment process, the Spokesperson confirmed that, in addition to the one announced candidate, there were four applicants who had come to the attention of the President. He had forwarded their letters and curricula vitae to his Security Council counterpart.
  • Asked whether those four applicants had been presented by Member States, the Spokesperson said they had not.
  • In response to a further question, the Spokesperson noted that candidates had traditionally been presented by Member States; that had been the precedent.
  • Replying to a further inquiry, the Spokesperson said that Member States wished to see a fair, transparent and inclusive process. That was what the President was working to ensure, given the guidance he had, including General Assembly resolution 69/321.
  • Responding to a further inquiry, the Spokesperson reiterated that the Secretary-General selection and appointment process was a joint one between the General Assembly and Security Council.
  • For additional questions, the Spokesperson referred journalists to the dedicated web page on this topic.