NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Wednesday, 26 April 2023
SDGs
You just heard the details about the report that the Secretary-General introduced yesterday, on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Let me start here.
At yesterday’s briefing, President Csaba Kőrösi said that he fully agrees with the Secretary-General’s assessment that there is a pressing need for a real, transformative change.
He said that he was particularly glad to see that the conclusions of the Report have been based on scientific evidence and data.
Specifically, to the debate yesterday, President Kőrösi said that all the recommendations will be considered and will impact the credibility of the political commitment that is expected from the SDG Summit.
You have the President’s remarks in your inboxes and online: https://www.un.org/pga/77/2023/04/25/pga-remarks-following-sgs-briefing-on-his-special-edition-report-on-progress-towards-the-sustainable-development-goals-pga-remarks-following-sgs-briefing-on-his-special-edition-r/
VETO INITATIVE
Turning to today…
The General Assembly this morning is holding its first ever debate to discuss the so-called Veto Initiative, which as you know requires the General Assembly to hold a debate within 10 days of a veto being cast in the Security Council.
Opening the debate, President Kőrösi encouraged Member States today to use the debt creatively and constructively, to bring about change for a more efficient and impact-oriented UN.
Going forward, President Kőrösi said that he would transmit a record of today’s to the President of the Security Council, as well as future debates on this item.
You have his full remarks in your inboxes and online: https://www.un.org/pga/77/2023/04/26/pga-remarks-to-general-assemblys-first-formal-debate-on-the-use-of-the-veto/
ACTION ON RESOLUTIONS
The debate is still underway.
The General Assembly will break for lunch, as is customary, between 1 and 3PM.
When it resumes, action will be taken on three draft resolutions.
The first two are related to sustainable development.
Of those, the first is about infrastructure and sustainability. If it passes, it will require the incoming PGA to hold a one-day informal dialogue during the 78th session, on global resilience and promoting sustainable development through infrastructure connectivity.
The second draft is about strengthening Voluntary National Reviews through country-led evaluation.
The third draft is on cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and it will impact the 79th session of the General Assembly, calling for a report.
Once action is taken on these three drafts, then the debate on the use of the veto will continue.
BILATERALS
Turning to today’s bilaterals…
President Kőrösi met today with Borut Pahor, the former President of Slovenia.
QUESTIONS
There were no questions for the Spokesperson.
