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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

6 May 2021

PRESIDENT HONOURS U.N. PERSONNEL WHO DIED IN LINE OF DUTY IN 2020

  • This morning, the President virtually attended the Annual Memorial Service to honour United Nations personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty.
  • In connection with that, he tweeted that, since taking up the Presidency of the General Assembly, he has witnessed the hard work and dedication of UN staff around the globe.
  • In that regard, he paid tribute to the memory of the UN’s civilian, military and police staff who lost their lives during 2020.

 

PRESIDENT WELCOMES U.S. DECISION ON COVID-19 VACCINES

  • Also this morning, the President welcomed the United States Government’s decision to support the waiver of intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines.
  • He said that, once approved by the World Trade Organization, this much needed development will support increased vaccine production and help ensure #Vaccines4All.

 

CANDIDATES FOR NEXT ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ENGAGING IN DIALOGUES TODAY

  • Today the President is convening informal interactive dialogues in the General Assembly Hall with the two candidates running to become the next President of the General Assembly.
  • In line with regional rotation, the next President will come from the Asia Pacific Group. The two candidates have been nominated by Afghanistan and Maldives.
  • The first dialogue started this morning at 10 a.m. with H.E. Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, the former Foreign Minister of Afghanistan.
  • The second one will be at 3 p.m. with the Honourable Abdulla Shahid, the current Foreign Minister of Maldives.
  • The candidates will both present their vision statements and then answer questions posed by Member State representatives and members of civil society. The questions from delegates are being asked live in the room. The questions from civil society – which were collected in advance via our web site – are being asked through pre-recorded videos.
  • The actual election for the President of the 76th session of the General Assembly is scheduled for 7 June.
  • A dedicated web page for this election process is housed on our office’s web site. 

 

DIALOGUE FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL CANDIDATE TO BE HELD TOMORROW

  • Tomorrow, at 10 a.m., the President will convene an informal dialogue with the current candidate for the position of Secretary-General, the incumbent, António Guterres of Portugal. This will take place in the General Assembly Hall.
  • The candidate will present his vision statement and then answer questions from Member States and civil society.
  • The questions from delegates will be asked live in the room. The questions from civil society – which were collected in advance online – will be asked through pre-recorded videos.
  • The dialogue will be open and webcast at http://webtv.un.org/.