NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Friday, 4 November 2022
ICJ
The General Assembly is this morning electing a judge to the International Court of Justice.
The Judge will complete the remainder of the term of office of Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, who passed away in May.
As you know, this election is held independently, but in parallel with, the Security Council.
The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council is considered as elected.
In the General Assembly, “absolute majority” means a majority of all electors, whether or not they vote or are allowed to vote. That means 97 Member States.
Once that threshold is reached, President Csaba Kőrösi will communicate to the President of the
Security Council. And if they match, we will have an announcement.
If not, there will be additional rounds till the same candidate is elected in both bodies.
The ballots in the General Assembly were collected a short time ago to be counted, and we expect the General Assembly to resume at around 12:10PM.
WE THE PEOPLES
Last night, President Kőrösi participated in the 2022 We the Peoples Awards Dinner organized by the UN Foundation.
President Kőrösi presented the SDG Vanguard Award to Mia Kami, who is a singer/songwriter and advocate for a world that is more equal.
The President was asked to present the SDG Vanguard Award because of his ties to the SDGs.
He was the co-facilitator of the Open Working Group that negotiated the Goals.
In his remarks at the award presentation, he stated that progress on the SDGs is imperiled, but even in a time of crisis, we have opportunities: for bold, decisive action…for innovation and partnership…for art, inspiration and solidarity.
US EMBARGO
The General Assembly yesterday adopted a resolution on the “necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”. 185 Member States voting for the resolution, 2 against and 2 abstained.
THIRD COMMITTEE
The Third Committee took action this morning on a resolution presented by the Russian Federation entitled Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 105 Member States in support, 52 against and 15 abstaining.
BILATERALS
President Kőrösi today met with Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini. UNRWA is being discussed in the Fourth and Fifth Committees.
The President will meet today with Dr. Ban Ki-moon, one of the Elders. The President met with the Elders yesterday, in an event organized by the Centre on International Cooperation of NYU.
President Kőrösi – and some of his team – will then take part in the annual retreat organized by the President of ECOSOC and UN Foundation.
NEXT WEEK
Looking to next week…
On Monday, 7 November…
In the morning, the General Assembly will hold a debate on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.
Member States will also take action on a draft resolution that would create a new day. If the resolution is adopted, 18 November of each year would be known as the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence.
You might also be interested to know that on Monday morning, President Kőrösi will meet virtually with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
On Wednesday, 9 November…
The General Assembly in the morning will discuss the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Action on a draft resolution is expected
On Thursday, 10 November…
Member States will hold a debate on the situation in Afghanistan.
On Friday, 11 November
President Kőrösi will convene the next in his Morning dialogue series. The topic will be the Veto Initiative.
In the Third Committee, we expect action on a resolution entitled “Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.”
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked about Ban Ki-moon’s schedule. The Spokesperson said that he will meet with the President in the afternoon, around 2PM ET.
The Spokesperson was asked if the Third Committee resolution had any amendments, and whether they changed the nature of the resolution. The Spokesperson said that there were two amendments, and she would share them with the journalist.
The Spokesperson was asked about which topics would be covered in the bilateral with Chinese FM Wang. The Spokesperson said that she would see if a readout could be shared after.
