NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Friday, 30 June 2023
WHO CONFERENCE
Let me start with a travel announcement…
The President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, will participate in the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health on Wednesday, 5 July, in Budapest, Hungary.
This conference is expected to define the future environment and health priorities and commitments for WHO’s European Region, with a focus on the triple environmental crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution.
In his remarks to the opening, the President will highlight the work on health being done in the General Assembly, and its connection with the Sustainable Development Goals… saying that health and well-being are integral to achieving the SDGs.
While in Budapest, he is scheduled to meet with the President of the Republic of Hungary Ms. Katalin Novák, as well as with other senior Government officials.
He will also meet with senior UN officials, including WHO Regional Director for Europe Mr. Hans Kluge; UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary, Mr. Dmitry Mariyasin; and the heads of UN agencies in Hungary.
And you can expect more information on this official visit next week.
The costs of the trip are covered by the OPGA Trust Fund.
SECURITY COUNCIL
Turning to today’s program in the General Assembly…
Member States are discussing the annual report of the Security Council.
President Kőrösi spoke at the start.
He said that outside of Turtle Bay, there is only one UN.
To the world, to our eight billion constituents, in the field of peace and security, we serve one basic purpose. And that is to spare them, and their communities, from the scourge of war.
The President said that the Security Council and the General Assembly are complementary bodies, meant to work together.
Today’s meeting should be an honest exercise of self-examination and accountability.
And while the President noted some of the achievements of the Security Council, there were also what he called, “Unfulfilled mandates and lost opportunities.”
Here I quote the President, who spoke these lines in Russian: “Let me mention just the most painful of them in relation which the General Assembly has already adopted 6 resolutions:
491 days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Council still owes the world its first resolution on that clear breach of the UN Charter and the international law.
So, let me open this morning’s debate with some guiding questions to all of you in the General Assembly:
Do you feel that the major challenges we faced this year are well reflected in this report of the Council?”
The President’s full remarks are online and in your inboxes: https://www.un.org/pga/77/2023/06/30/pga-remarks-on-debate-on-the-annual-report-of-the-security-council/
BILATERAL
Among his bilaterals today… the President is meeting this hour with Ambassador Pedroso Cuesta, in his role as Special Representative and Coordinator for Cuba’s Presidency of the Group of 77 plus China.
WEEK AHEAD
Turning to next week..
On Monday, 3 July, Member States will hold informal consultations on the political declaration for the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis.
Tuesday, 4 July, is a UN holiday, but I will update you on the President’s official travel.
On Wednesday, 5 July…
In Hungary, the President will address the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health
The General Assembly will hold a high-level interactive dialogue on Culture and Sustainable Development on the theme “Culture as a global public good: Filling SDG implementation gaps beyond 2030”
The President’s remarks will be delivered by one of the General Assembly Vice-Presidents.
On Thursday, 6 July,
The President has a full day of meetings in Budapest, including the heads of UN agencies in Hungary.
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked if the President sees the current situation of the Security Council damaging the reputation of the UN overall? The Spokesperson referred the journalist to the President’s remarks today and the Security Council stakeout from a few months ago when he spoke to that body, and he said that the people outside of the UN don’t differentiate the work of the Security Council or the General Assembly from the work of the UN. While the General Assembly has passed six resolutions related to the war in Ukraine, the Security Council has not taken similar action. Today’s discussion is meant to help serve those people, and to make the UN do better.
The Spokesperson was asked if the President thinks that progress has been achieved this session. The Spokesperson said that yes, there are positive changes (initiated by the co-chairs) such as record keeping, UN Webcast coverage of some of the speeches, and a repository of the work done. This will prevent the IGN discussions from going back to square one at the resumption of the 78th session. Whether enough progress has been made is up to Member States, but the President believes these are changes in the right direction.
The Spokesperson was asked about next steps on the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. Per the resolution adopted yesterday, Member States requested “the Secretary-General, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and in consultation with all other relevant actors, including with the full and meaningful participation of victims, survivors and families, to develop, within 80 working days of the adoption of the present resolution, the terms of reference of the Independent Institution.”
The Spokesperson was asked for a copy of yesterday’s voting sheet, which she has since shared with the journalist.
