NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Friday, 26 May 2023
SOMALIA
The President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, condemns in the strongest possible terms the attacks this morning against the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), and on the adjacent Somali military base.
He expresses his deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and governments of Uganda and Somalia. He also wishes a speedy recover to those injured.
Terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations constitutes a grave threat to international peace and security.
The President of the General Assembly underlined the need to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.
NUCLEAR CALL
Tuning gears a bit…
President Kőrösi today is once again appealing for an end to nuclear weapons.
In a new statement, the President is reiterating his appeal to all leaders, civil society actors, youth and scientists in the world to raise your voices. And to make a change.
Quote: “We need to stop the nuclear arms race. We need to come back to the arms control regimes and ensure nuclear safety. It is not a technical issue. It is a matter of clear minds, clear vision, responsibility and survival.”
That message is available on social media: https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1662076191484829699
MEETING WITH SG
Turning to his schedule today.
President Kőrösi met just in the past hour with Secretary-General António Guterres.
This was their monthly coordination meeting.
SDG SUMMIT
The President will meet shortly with his co-facilitators working on the Political Declaration to be adopted at the SDG Summit in September.
Those are Ambassador Fergal Tomas Mythen, Permanent Representative of Ireland; and Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar.
PGA FELLOWS
Turning to our PGA Fellows. They are today wrapping up their official visit to Washington, D.C.
They finished the visit with a tour of the African American National Museum.
And I know I speak for everyone on the third floor, when I say that OPGA looks forward to having them all back in the office.
WEEK AHEAD
And looking to next week…
On Tuesday, 30 May, President Kőrösi will hold a Morning Dialogue discussion with a small group of Ambassadors on “how to renew trust in the implementation of the SDGs”.
At 10AM… the President will take part in the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, which will be held in the GA Hall. The Permanent Forum is led by 10 expert members elected by the General Assembly and appointed by the Human Rights Council. This is the second session that will take place. It will last through Friday.
Later that day, the President will participate in an event related to minority issues. This is an event organized by OSCE, OHCHR and Member States on “Preventive Diplomacy in a Changing Landscape of Modern Conflicts: The Role of the UN and Regional Organizations.”
Wednesday, 31 May…
At 10AM ET … The General Assembly will hold a plenary with action expected on resolution related to the Fifth Committee… and that will be followed by continuation of statements from the High-level meetings on the Sendai Framework.
Starting at 3PM ET… there will be the opening of the 21st High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation.
Thursday, 1 June…
At 10AM… Member States will elect the President of the General Assembly for the 78th session.
Friday, 2 June…
The Pledging Conference for UNRWA will take place starting at 10AM ET in CR-4. The President will participate in that. As you know, he visited an UNRWA school while in Jordan earlier this month, and spent quite a lot of time with students and staff.
Friday is also World Bicycle Day. There are a number of events. President Kőrösi will be taking part in two of them, around the lunchtime. The President is very physically active, and I believe he will have his bike with him at one of those events.
QUESTIONS
There were no questions for the Spokesperson.
