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PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

PRESIDENT STANDS WITH FIJI FOLLOWING DEVASTATING CYCLONE?

• The President??this morning.?
• He said, ¡°As the level of destruction from Cyclone Yasa becomes clearer, I want to tell the people of Fiji that the international community is with you.¡±?
• ¡°This cyclone is yet another example of how small island States face the brunt of climate change. We must do better.¡±?

PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PROGRESS ON 2ND?U.N. OCEAN CONFERENCE?

• The President??with the Permanent Representative of Portugal; the Deputy Permanent Representative of Kenya; and the Secretary-General¡¯s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson ¨C to discuss progress on the Second United Nations Ocean Conference.?
• In terms of background, Kenya and Portugal are the co-hosts of that conference. It was initially scheduled to take place in June 2020 but had to be postponed due to COVID-19.??
• The next steps are to decide on a date and format for the event that ensures everyone¡¯s safety and maximum inclusivity.?

• As of today, most of the General Assembly¡¯s Main Committees have completed their work. The only exception is the Fifth Committee, which covers administrative and budgetary matters.?
• Discussions are still continuing on the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ¡¯s regular budget for 2021.?
• As of now, we expect that the Fifth Committee may approve the budget tomorrow ¨C and that the plenary may consider the Fifth Committee¡¯s reports immediately after. But that will only be confirmed after the Fifth Committee finishes its deliberations. In terms of deadlines, the Assembly must approve the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ¡¯s 2021 budget by 31 December.?
• The President expects to deliver a statement when the plenary adopts the Fifth Committee reports ¨C and another statement when the plenary closes for the year, immediately afterwards. Those will be emailed to our mailing list,?posted on our web site?and tweeted.?

PRESIDENT REMAINS FOCUSED ON ENSURING VACCINES FOR ALL?

• The Spokesperson was asked whether the President would get a COVID-19 vaccination in public.?
• The Spokesperson replied that the President¡¯s focus remained on ensuring?, in accordance with his?#Vaccines4All?initiative.??
• On his own vaccine, the President was following news reports, and it was currently too early for him to make an announcement on that.??

PRESIDENT ENSURED THAT GENERAL ASSEMBLY FÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵCTIONED AS NORMALLY AS POSSIBLE DURING PANDEMIC?

• The Spokesperson noted that today would be his last briefing for the year.?
• The Spokesperson was asked what the President thought of this year, given that Presidents of the General Assembly normally traveled around the world, meeting with Heads of State and Government. He was asked whether the President should ¡°ask for another year¡± so that he could get a chance to participate in those kinds of activities.?
• The Spokesperson first noted that the session was still not over. He then added that it had been very important for the President this year to ensure that the General Assembly kept functioning as normally as possible, and he continued to believe that the idea of in-person diplomacy was very important. That was why he had been pushing to make sure that the General Assembly held in-person meetings, while following mitigation measures and ensuring the safety of all delegates and staff.?
• The Spokesperson said one would have to see what the coming year brought, but for the President¡¯s part, he would continue to ensure that the General Assembly functioned in the way that it was always meant to.??
• Asked where the President would be spending the holidays, the Spokesperson said he would be in New York.?