{"id":136483,"date":"2018-01-18T16:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T21:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/?p=136483"},"modified":"2018-06-18T19:05:35","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T23:05:35","slug":"highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.87&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1><strong>HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>SPOKESPERSON FOR <\/strong><strong>GENERAL ASSEMBLY <\/strong><strong>PRESIDENT <\/strong><strong>MIROSLAV LAJ\u010c\u00c1K <\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"post-meta vcard\">\n<p><strong>United Nations Headquarters, New York<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><span class=\"updated\">18 January 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.87&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA DESERVES Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵWAVERING SUPPORT<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The President today <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ_PGA\/status\/954009416222863361\">noted<\/a> that it was the General Assembly that created the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA) back in 1949. He said Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA helps and protects some 5 million vulnerable Palestine refugees \u2013 and it deserves the international community\u2019s unwavering support.<\/li>\n<li>The Spokesperson was asked whether the President knew how Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s original mandate had changed and whether he felt that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA should be reformed. The Spokesperson noted that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s web site made it clear that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate had evolved over time. He added that, since the President headed the body that had created Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, he wished to see support for the Agency at a time when it did not have all the resources that it needed to perform its important work.<\/li>\n<li>The Spokesperson said it was not for him to offer analyses on how Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate had evolved or should continue to evolve. Replying to an additional question, the Spokesperson said the President was not planning to look into whether or how to change Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate.<\/li>\n<li>Asked whether the President would consult with Member States or donors on how to address Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s funding shortfall, the Spokesperson said it was up to each Member State to decide on the voluntary funding it provided to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA. The President would encourage discussions related to such funding to continue. If there were a role for him to play, or if the Member States requested his assistance, he would engage, because he appreciated the voluntary contributions that Member States were already making to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and would want to see such support continue.<\/li>\n<li>Asked if the issue of funding to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA had come up in the President\u2019s bilateral meetings in the Gulf region, the Spokesperson said that this specific topic had not been raised. However, in Kuwait, the President had discussed that country\u2019s generous commitment to humanitarian efforts. The President had also met with Kuwait-based United Nations agencies about the needs they had while working on the ground in the Middle East. His other bilateral meetings mainly concerned regional dynamics in the Gulf.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>U.N. NEEDS NEW APPROACH TO PEACE, PRESIDENT SAYS IN QATAR<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The President is currently in Doha, Qatar. <a href=\"\/pga\/72?p=136471\">This morning he spoke at a Regional Dialogue on Sustaining Peace<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>He said a new approach to peace is needed \u2013 and that support and action are needed at all stages of a conflict cycle.<\/li>\n<li>Those stages include when political tensions are on the rise; when warring parties show willingness to talk; and after a peace deal has been signed.<\/li>\n<li>The President also highlighted the importance of financing. He said United Nations resources for peace are currently concentrated on military peacekeeping missions. But there is a chronic shortfall of funding to build or preserve peace.<\/li>\n<li>He called for partnerships between\u00a0the United Nations and other actors, including the private sector. And he said he hoped that today\u2019s discussions would feed into his high-level meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, which will be held on 24 and 25 April, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.<\/li>\n<li>Also in Doha today, the President met with H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. They discussed the importance of dialogue and multilateralism, as well as the need for a modern United Nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>NO INVOLVEMENT BY PRESIDENT WITH HOST COÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵTRY COMMITTEE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Asked about the \u201cjurisdiction\u201d of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country, the Spokesperson said that, although it was a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, he did not speak for it. The Committee had its own Chair, Cyprus, which could answer questions about the body\u2019s work.<\/li>\n<li>Asked if the President had ever gotten personally involved with the Committee\u2019s work, the Spokesperson said that he had not.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_code admin_label=&#8221;BrightCove Video ShortCode&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.6&#8243;]\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe width=\"&quot;100%&quot;\" height=\"&quot;180&quot;\" src scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights of press briefing by spokesperson Brenden Varma \u2013 18 January 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spokespersons-briefings","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018 - General Assembly of the United Nations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018 - General Assembly of the United Nations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Highlights of press briefing by spokesperson Brenden Varma \u2013 18 January 2018\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"General Assembly of the United Nations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-18T21:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-18T23:05:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katharina Kandt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katharina Kandt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katharina Kandt\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06bf09e43d46846c087701ec99ac8412\"},\"headline\":\"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-18T21:00:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-18T23:05:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":765,\"articleSection\":[\"Spokesperson's Briefings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/\",\"name\":\"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018 - General Assembly of the United Nations\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-18T21:00:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-18T23:05:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06bf09e43d46846c087701ec99ac8412\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/18\\\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/\",\"name\":\"General Assembly of the United Nations\",\"description\":\"President of the 72nd Session\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06bf09e43d46846c087701ec99ac8412\",\"name\":\"Katharina Kandt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e28c19bf52d2ea02ca4d78c4548f4e118fe08e94744f59f7938769a04ae856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e28c19bf52d2ea02ca4d78c4548f4e118fe08e94744f59f7938769a04ae856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e28c19bf52d2ea02ca4d78c4548f4e118fe08e94744f59f7938769a04ae856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katharina Kandt\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.un.org\\\/pga\\\/72\\\/author\\\/kandtun-org\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018 - General Assembly of the United Nations","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018 - General Assembly of the United Nations","og_description":"Highlights of press briefing by spokesperson Brenden Varma \u2013 18 January 2018","og_url":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/","og_site_name":"General Assembly of the United Nations","article_published_time":"2018-01-18T21:00:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-06-18T23:05:35+00:00","author":"Katharina Kandt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katharina Kandt","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/"},"author":{"name":"Katharina Kandt","@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/#\/schema\/person\/06bf09e43d46846c087701ec99ac8412"},"headline":"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018","datePublished":"2018-01-18T21:00:13+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-18T23:05:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/"},"wordCount":765,"articleSection":["Spokesperson's Briefings"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/","url":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/","name":"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018 - General Assembly of the United Nations","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-01-18T21:00:13+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-18T23:05:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/#\/schema\/person\/06bf09e43d46846c087701ec99ac8412"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2018\/01\/18\/highlights-of-press-briefing-by-spokesperson-18-january-2018\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY SPOKESPERSON \u2013 18 JANUARY 2018"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/","name":"General Assembly of the United Nations","description":"President of the 72nd Session","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/#\/schema\/person\/06bf09e43d46846c087701ec99ac8412","name":"Katharina Kandt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e28c19bf52d2ea02ca4d78c4548f4e118fe08e94744f59f7938769a04ae856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e28c19bf52d2ea02ca4d78c4548f4e118fe08e94744f59f7938769a04ae856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e28c19bf52d2ea02ca4d78c4548f4e118fe08e94744f59f7938769a04ae856e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katharina Kandt"},"url":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/author\/kandtun-org\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136483\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}