Transcript of the Press Briefing by the Spokesperson of the President of the General Assembly
26 November 2024
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing
Good afternoon, everyone,
The President of the General Assembly Philemon Yang will convene plenary meetings of the Tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly on Wednesday 4 December at 3 pm and Wednesday 11 December at 10 am in accordance with resolution 377 (V) 1950 “Uniting for Peace”. This follows the veto cast by a Permanent Member of the Security Council on 20 November on a draft resolution on the Middle East.
At a special meeting today, organised by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, the President of the General Assembly stressed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only end when both Israelis and Palestinians are able to live side by side in their own sovereign, independent states, in peace, security and dignity.
As you also know, the President of the General Assembly has convened a plenary meeting this afternoon to hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast by one permanent member during the 9786th meeting of the Security Council on 18 November under the item “Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan”.
At the High-level meeting convened by the President to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women yesterday, he urgently called for bold actions to address the root causes of violence against women and girls and highlighted the pivotal role of men and boys in advancing gender equality.
Committees
Third Committee
Turning to Committees, the Third Committee concluded its session, sending 46 draft resolutions to the General Assembly that deal with human rights and social issues, affecting vulnerable groups such as women, children, Indigenous Peoples and refugees.
Fourth Commitee
The Fourth Committee, concluding its work for the current session last week, approved five texts, four of which were draft resolutions concerning Israel and Palestine, which took recorded votes. The Committee adopted a total of 33 draft resolutions and 5 draft decisions over the course of 29 formal meetings.
Fifth Committee
The Fifth Committee held informal meetings last week and discussed the Pattern of Conferences, including the structure of meetings and the future of remote participation as well as the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) Report.
Sixth Committee
And with regard to the Sixth Committee, the Sixth Committee held its final plenary meeting last Friday where it took action on all the draft resolutions tabled for the sessions.
Appointments
The President of the General Assembly has appointed H.E. Mr. Fergal Mythen, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations and H.E. Mrs. Agnes Mary Chimbiri Molande, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malawi to the United Nations as co-facilitators of intergovernmental consultations on the organizational arrangements and modalities for the high-level plenary meeting to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth which will take place during the general debate of the eightieth session of the General Assembly in 2025.
Last week, the President met the incoming President of the UN Security Council, H.E. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative of the US to the UN. They discussed the situation in Gaza as well as Sudan and the need to continue working on reaching a ceasefire.
Informal Meeting of the Plenary
Just to note that the informal meeting of the plenary to hear a briefing on solutions to internal displacement – scheduled for 4 December – has been postponed.
And finally, World Sustainable Transport Day is today
With the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport to begin in January 2026, the President urged enhanced synergies among Member States and all stakeholders towards a universally accessible, inclusive and environmentally friendly transport system for everyone everywhere.
Questions
Question: Just on the 10th emergency session. Why is it one week apart?
Response: In terms of the schedule…this is what was able to take place because of scheduling priorities.
Question: Are there any signs that there’s going to be a vote on any resolution?
Response: We are not sure as yet, but we will give you information as soon as we get information on any resolutions that may be passed.
Media Contacts
Sharon Birch, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, Tel: + 212 963 0564, M: +1 646 342 5873, Email: birchs@un.org
Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/ Social and Digital Media/Media Relations M: +1 917 3614990, mariam.shaikh@un.org
More Information and Updates : Website: YouTube: X (Twitter): Instagram: LinkedIn: Photo Repository: GA Resolutions during 79th Session
