NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS

Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

VIENNA

President Csaba Kőrösi is in Vienna today, wrapping up his official visit to Austria.

This morning, he met with Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

They discussed a number of topics, including disarmament, sustainable development, and Security Council reform.

 

PGA FELLOWS

Meanwhile, the PGA Youth Fellows are in Washington, D.C.

They are there to meet with UN and international officials, as well as think tanks and their own Embassies.

The goal is to enhance their understanding of multilateralism.

And just a short time ago, they visited the UN Information Centre, and your friend Brenden Varma.

 

BASIC SCIENCES EVENT

Tomorrow, the President is back at UN Headquarters.

He is convening a special event for the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development.

The event will start at 10AM ET in Conference Room 5.

This is an event for Member States, scientists, civil society and international organizations.

The President will make opening remarks.

He is expected to argue that science is key to measuring sustainability and resilience. We must ensure that the role of and the potential of basic sciences is better understood by policy makers.

There will then be a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Maurizio Bona, Former Senior Adviser at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and Vice-Chair of IYBSSD

The panelists will include:

  • Prof. Karen Hallberg, Professor at Balseiro Institute, and Principal Researcher at Bariloche Atomic Center, Argentina
  • Prof. Rolf Heuer, Former Director-General of CERN, and President of the SESAME Council (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East)
  • Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, co-founder of ReimagineSA, the Chair of the TutuIP Trust and Co- President of the Club of Rome

Closing remarks by Dr. Michel Spiro, President of International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), and Chair of IYBSSD.

Details at https://www.un.org/pga/77/2023/05/04/letter-from-the-president-of-the-general-assembly-international-year-of-basic-sciences-for-sustainable-development/

UNIS

In the afternoon, the President will meet with students at the UN Information School.

He will lecture on sustainable development, specifically the topics that we’ve spoken most about – water issues, health-related issues, and energy.

 

RULE OF LAW

And yesterday, I was asked for more information on the 15 June high-level General Assembly debate on “Equal Access to Justice for All: Advancing Reforms for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.”

The high-level debate will be an all-day event held in person.

It will consist of an opening segment, a high-level segment for interventions from Member States and Observers of the General Assembly, followed by an interactive panel discussion and closing remarks.

The theme of the interactive panel will be “Evidence-based approaches to ensure equal access to justice for all in criminal justice systems – centering those facing structural barriers”

The outcome will be a President’s summary of the deliberations that will be prepared for transmission to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and to all Member States, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 77/237.

The meeting will be webcast.

 

QUESTIONS

There were no questions for the Spokesperson.