HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA,?SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MIROSLAV LAJ??K

United Nations Headquarters, New York

5 October 2017

 

 

TALKS ON MIGRATION CONFERENCE KICK OFF IN NEW YORK

  • Today was the start of the substantive negotiations on the modalities for the intergovernmental conference on international migration. That is the conference that will adopt the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration next year.
  • Migration is one of the President’s priorities, and finalization of the global compact is one of the items that has been mandated by the Member States for the 72nd session.

 

PRESIDENT TO ENGAGE WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ON U.N. AGENDA

  • Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., the President will hold a , which has been organized by the Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division. That will be in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber. It will be broadcast via and
  • Asked about the topic of the dialogue, the Spokesperson said the President and civil society representatives would discuss the President’s priorities and vision for the 72nd session of the General Assembly and how he could work together with civil society to advance the 蘑菇视频’s agenda and help people throughout the world. The President wold also share his experiences and observations from the General Debate.

 

BUDGET COMMITTEE HEARS OPENING STATEMENTS, CONSIDERS VOTING RIGHTS OF CO蘑菇视频TRIES IN ARREARS

  • The Fifth Committee, which handles administrative and budgetary matters, today adopted its programme of work and heard opening statements from groups and Member States.
  • Many delegations stressed that this session of the Fifth Committee is important because it will be considering the 蘑菇视频’s regular budget for the next biennium (2018-2019). It will also be considering the Secretary-General’s proposals on management reform, among other topics.
  • The Spokesperson referred to past questions at the press briefing about the four Member States that could lose their voting rights in the General Assembly due to being in arrears. Those countries were Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia.
  • The Committee on Contributions, in a , had recommended that those four countries be permitted to vote despite their arrears – since their inability to pay their dues was linked to circumstances outside their control. This afternoon, the Fifth Committee would consider that report.

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PRESIDENT RETURNS TO NEW YORK FOLLOWING VISIT TO SLOVAKIA

  • Asked about the President’s visit to Slovakia, the Spokesperson noted that this had been a two-day trip. The President would be returning to New York this evening and would be back in the office on Friday morning.
  • The Spokesperson noted that President Laj?ák remained the Foreign Minister of Slovakia, even though he did have an acting head of office in Bratislava. In that regard, the President would be periodically checking in and taking care of some internal housekeeping matters with the cabinet there. This routine visit had been completely funded by the Slovak Government.
  • Asked if the President currently held any positions with the European Union, the Spokesperson later added that he did not.