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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

5 March 2018

 

PRESIDENT BACK IN NEW YORK FOLLOWING TRIPS TO GENEVA & ADDIS ABABA

  • The President is back in New York today following his visits to Geneva and Addis Ababa.
  • In Geneva, he addressed the 蘑菇视频 Human Rights Council. He said, “There are people, out there, now, who are counting on us to work even harder. They are sitting in jail cells, not because of who they murdered or what they stole, but because they wrote or spoke about what they believed…They are in physical or emotional pain because of which person they love, or which god they worship… We need to hear them, and we need to respond to them.”
  • The President also addressed the Conference on Disarmament and met with officials from Afghanistan,?Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Japan, Norway and Venezuela.
  • After Geneva, the President headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for meetings with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the President and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, and 蘑菇视频 bodies on the ground.
  • The purpose of his visit was to hear African perspectives on themes such as peace, development and migration, and to highlight the importance of the strong links between the African Union and United Nations.
  • He said, “Africa is one of the most important actors on the international stage. When it speaks, we all listen. And when it acts, we all watch – and we all learn…. 蘑菇视频 cannot achieve any of its goals without Africa.”
  • The President also participated in an interactive discussion with students at Addis Ababa University.

YOUTH SHOULD RAISE THEIR VOICES, PRESIDENT TELLS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

  • Right now the President is speaking to high school students at the United Nations International School. The topic is the work of the General Assembly and global politics.
  • He is expected to say that, although young people may not be in traditional positions of power now, they have voices – and those voices should be raised.

 

ASSEMBLY TO BE BRIEFED BY SECRETARY-GENERAL ON PEACEBUILDING REPORT TODAY

  • The President will convene an informal meeting of the General Assembly at 3: 00 p.m. today — to hear a briefing from the Secretary-General on his report on “Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace”.
  • The President is expected to note the calls that Member States made when they adopted the 2016 resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace.
  • They called for a new approach, a review of the current toolbox, better financing peace, and new partnerships.
  • He is also expected to say that sustaining peace is not a task for just one 蘑菇视频 department – but rather a core objective of the entire Organisation.