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ASSEMBLY MARKS 15^TH ANNIVERSARY OF CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION

• Today the President — in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime — is convening a?high-level debate to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption?of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
• In his opening remarks, the President said the battle against corruption is not one that can be fought alone. Although the primary responsibility lies in the hands of governments, journalists have a big role to play, as watchdogs. The private sector, civil society and academia are also key players.
• He concluded that ¡°corruption is, still, too destructive, too common, and too accepted, in our world today. But the power is in our hands, to alter these facts ¨C and create a new reality. Let us use this forum, today, as a step towards doing just that.¡±
• Also speaking in the opening segment were the Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
• Ministerial and other high-level representatives of Member States spoke this morning and will continue this afternoon.
• A panel discussion is now being held on the Convention¡¯s implementation and related trends, achievements and challenges.
• And a second one will be held after 3:00 p.m. on ¡°Achieving peaceful and inclusive societies through preventing and combating corruption¡±.
• The President will then deliver closing remarks.

PRESIDENT TO DISCUSS MYANMAR WITH U.N. ENVOY

• This afternoon, the President will meet with the Secretary-General¡¯s Special Envoy for Myanmar.
• Asked why the President was meeting with the Secretary-General¡¯s Special Envoy, the Spokesperson said that the President regularly met with a wide range of United Nations officials, including from the Secretariat. In that regard, today¡¯s meeting was not unusual.
• Regarding Myanmar, the President had been following the issue closely and considered what was happening with the Rohingya community to be a human tragedy. He had also discussed the topic with various interlocutors, including officials from Bangladesh.
• The Spokesperson noted that today¡¯s meeting had not yet happened and urged the journalist to look for a later on Twitter.

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH MINISTERS FROM CHINA, GREECE, MEXICO

• Also this afternoon, the President will meet separately with Mexico¡¯s Minister for Public Service and the Commissioner of the National Supervisory Commission of China.
• They both spoke in the high-level segment of today¡¯s meeting on the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
• The President will also be having dinner tonight with the Foreign Minister of Greece.

MIGRATION: DIFFERING NATIONAL REACTIONS SHOW WHY A GLOBAL COMPACT IS NEEDED

• Asked whether the President was concerned by migration policies that may be adopted by the new Government of Italy, the Spokesperson said it was not for the President to comment on national policies that may or may not be adopted.
• In general, the President felt that the fact that there were so many different national reactions to migration demonstrated why the world needed a global compact. Currently, Member States were negotiating the first ever Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration so that the international community would finally have a common understanding of what this phenomenon meant and how it could benefit everyone.
• The Spokesperson added that the compact was expected to be finalized in July, adopted in December and then endorsed by the General Assembly. That was what the President was currently focusing on when it came to migration.

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH ECOSOC HEAD TO FOSTER COORDINATION

• Asked about President Laj?¨¢k¡¯s meeting today with the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Spokesperson said this was a routine monthly meeting. President Laj?¨¢k also met on a monthly basis with the heads of other United Nations organs, including the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, in order to foster coordination across the Organization.
• The Spokesperson also noted the General Assembly¡¯s role when it came to strengthening ECOSOC.
• Asked whether today¡¯s meeting would touch on the China Energy Fund Committee, which had been accused of bribing a former General Assembly President and which was accredited to ECOSOC as a non-governmental organization (NGO), the Spokesperson said there were no plans to discuss that today.
• He reiterated that there were no links between President Laj?¨¢k and the China Energy Fund Committee and that the matter of ECOSOC-accredited NGOs was a matter for ECOSOC to act and comment on.