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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

21 January 2021

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¡°THE Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵITED NATIONS IS BACK,¡± PRESIDENT TELLS ASSEMBLY IN PRIORITIES BRIEFING

  • This morning the plenary held an informal meeting to hear a briefing by the President on his priorities for 2021.
  • In his remarks, he noted his advocacy for a return to the General Assembly¡¯s normal way of working. In that regard, he said the Assembly had succeeded by meeting regularly and taking action on decisions and resolutions in person.
  • During the main part of the session, which lasted from September to December, the Assembly convened 80 times, and adopted 257 resolutions and 67 decisions. The President said, ¡°With thanks to our Member States, we have shown that the United Nations is back.¡±
  • He also outlined his ongoing areas of focus, including: the health and socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19; gender equality and women¡¯s empowerment; his #Vaccines4All initiative; the humanitarian agenda and the world¡¯s most vulnerable people; and the environment.

IRAQ: PRESIDENT CONDEMNS TERRORIST ATTACKS IN BAGHDAD

  • This morning, the President the shameless terrorists who carried out two cruel suicide attacks in central Baghdad today.
  • He said that the General Assembly will always remain resolute in its opposition to terrorism and that his thoughts were with the Government and people of Iraq.

LIBYA, NIGER & ZIMBABWE REGAIN GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTING RIGHTS

  • The plenary will meet this afternoon at 3:00. At the start, the President expects to note a , which confirms that Libya, Niger and Zimbabwe have made the necessary payments to reduce their arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter.
  • In other words, those three countries have regained their voting rights in the General Assembly.

ASSEMBLY TO TAKE ACTION ON NEW RESOLUTION ON RELIGIOUS SITES

  • Also this afternoon, the Assembly expects to take action on a entitled ¡°Promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites¡±.
  • The resolution will be presented by Saudi Arabia on behalf of a number of Member States.
  • According to the resolution, the Assembly would invite the Secretary-General to convene a global conference to foster political support to advance the United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites.
  • In response to questions, the Spokesperson said the draft resolution was expected to be adopted by consensus. However, he would only be able to confirm that after the plenary met this afternoon.
  • Asked if the President was thinking of tentative dates for the global conference mentioned in the draft, the Spokesperson noted that it was the Secretary-General who would be invited to convene the conference. In that regard, it was not for the President to come up with dates.